


Around The Mulberry Bush

by Basmathgirl



Category: Doctor Who, Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: Adolescent Sexuality, Character Death, F/M, Family, Filming, Fix-It, Jealousy, Reality TV, Regeneration, Television
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-07-21
Updated: 2014-11-07
Packaged: 2018-02-09 18:06:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 22
Words: 48,651
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1992636
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Basmathgirl/pseuds/Basmathgirl
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The Duplicate Doctor is a child trapped in a man’s body and desperate to reach his mother, Donna. She is about to marry a man who is kind enough to want her, but this is soon superseded by the plans of her own son who is hell-bent on rescuing her from her current situation.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> **WARNING:** probably not the best thing for Rose fans to read.  
>  **A/N:** I started this a while back for [tkelparis](https://www.fanfiction.net/u/1402180/tkelparis)’s birthday and have been endlessly distracted away. I'm posting it because my update isn’t ready and if I post this now I’ll be forced to continue it.

The ID badge pinned on his jacket proclaimed him to be Dr Jonathan Noble. He begged to differ. It had merely been a title he had chosen in a rebellious moment. None of that seemed to matter now. Hardly anything did; but it was a name of his choosing. It couldn’t take away this homesickness within him that threatened to crawl up and burst out through his skin. Reason told him it was a symptom of the never-ending yearning to break away from this place that had offered him shelter from the storm. Reasoned be damned!

Everything felt so empty here. His head was filled with only his own thoughts; and it hurt to remember how it had been at the very beginning of his existence. Well, the very _very_ beginning had been filled with physical pain that had been replaced with loneliness, so maybe not that; but the time he had become a full-bodied person, with a mother and father of sorts. 

‘Don’t think of them,’ he willed himself. But it was too late; the gnawing pain had started to seep out to travel along his veins, almost to the point that he wanted to wail with grief and scratch away the surface of his skin to fervently dig it out. 

Pete’s World, they had called it. This alternate world was flawed. It all felt wrong, so very wrong to his tender limited time senses. It wouldn’t do to dwell on that for now either. A distraction was needed as he contemplated his next move.

He stood looking out over the concourse, taking in the architectural magnificence that was the Torchwood building. It really was a remarkable thing to see with its open plan style and obvious 60s idealism. Prince Charles would have had a pink fit if he had seen it. A thunderous grey sky hovered overhead as the raw wind whipped through the high concrete archways. He turned his face away from the worse it could do, wanting the wildness to ruffle him even further.

On the outer edges of his peripheral vision he could easily see Rose as she attempted to sneak up on him, tip-toeing along as she did so; but he remained seemingly oblivious as he gazed at the scene whilst holding an empty coffee cup. His hand clung onto it as though it were an anchor. Once upon a time he would have considered Rose to be his anchor in life. It was far too obvious of her to behave in this way, and in some respects he rather liked that she still bothered trying to lay a claim on him; but they both knew it was only habit.

“I thought I’d find you out here,” she lightly accused him as she took the last steps that brought her to his side. 

Dressed in an expensively tailored suit, she looked the very essence of an efficient business woman, but her job was as an agent for Torchwood. Defender of the Earth, was her title. Apparently. Jonathan still had problems accepting that. Thinking of her as someone who liaised with aliens was much easier on his aggravated sensitive nerves. Far too much seemed to irritate him here. 

Turning her head, Rose tried to see what caught his observation. “What are you doing? Anyone would think you are looking for him.”

In a micro-movement, Jonathan flinched. Ah, there it was; the ever present phantom essence of his progenitor. Or ‘good old Dad’, as his inner voice sarcastically labelled the Doctor. Narrowing his eyes, he finally focused his attention onto her, and gained a small grateful smile. “No, Rose. I’m never looking for him. He won’t come back here because crossing the dimensions would be too dangerous now without any of the cracks there were before. How wizard! It’d be completely bleeding stupid to try!”

Rose shuffled uncomfortably on the spot, riled now by his neglectful lack of affection and attention. “Why do you always have to sound like _her_ when you mention him?”

“Why?” he pondered, now openly glaring at her. “Because I’m half of my mother, Rose, so it is inevitable that I sound like her at times.”

“Yes, but do you have to do so most of the time?” she griped.

A gust of wind that could bite right down to the bone pulled at his body. “I am not his clone. I keep telling you that. There are similarities, and I conveniently look like him but I am not him. I’ve finally had to acknowledge that.”

“But you and me…,” she began to say.

A sigh of exasperation passed his lips as he heard the anticipated complaint in her tone. “What about you and me? I thought I had provided everything you wanted.”

Why couldn’t he understand and be the man she wanted him to be? She sniffed and wiped a hand across her nose. “It isn’t enough,” she admitted forlornly. 

“I offered to share your life, to hold your hand, and hug you when you need comfort. It was what I was told to do in order to love you,” he stated. “What else am I supposed to do?”

Why didn’t he know or comprehend? “I wanted…!” she almost shouted at him in frustration, fighting against the roar of the wind around them. Realising it wouldn’t work if she continued to yell at him, she then quietened her voice. “I wanted us to be lovers.”

“Aren’t we?” he asked in confusion, frowning heavily. They had kissed several times, they usually held hands and he had pledged himself to her. Surely that made them lovers?

“No. I know you’ve tried, but I meant lovers in the bedroom sense.” Rose then looked expectantly at him, willing him to understand enough to take the next step. She even added in a coquettish flick of her tongue out the side of her mouth.

“I…,” he floundered having partially expected this response but having denied to himself it would actually happen. “I can’t do that, Rose. I’m so sorry, but I can’t and don’t want to.”

“Why not?!” she cried, deeply affronted as tears threatened.

Anger flashed in him. No wonder a former self had mentioned stupid apes, because he really understood the sentiment in that instance. Calming the impulse to strike out verbally, he decided he would have to explain it all to her again, in a simpler way. “The outer and the inner packaging don’t match; I thought you knew that. My mental puberty hasn’t happened yet, so I have no mating response. The bedroom sense will have to wait.”

“Then when…?” Rose started to ask, ending on another tearful sniff. She had waited so long for him to physically be what she wanted him to be; and it hurt her deeply to think she’d have to wait even longer. Her patience was wearing thin. Holding hands was not enough without the adventure to distract her from her yearnings.

“I honestly don’t know. The bond with my mother has broken so I can’t complete my development,” he answered. “If only I could get her here.”

“There are parts of a TARDIS around here somewhere,” she interrupted him; eager to pass on this information to gain the man she wanted in the way she wanted. “Couldn’t you use them?”

“A TARDIS?” he queried in concerned joy, recognising the memory it released. That meant that the one Donna had been rigged up to in her alternate universe might still exist, and he could ~~free~~ use it to jump the dimensions. “Tell me where it is,” he begged.

It seemed really ironic to Rose that this was the first time he had seemed genuinely enthusiastic about anything with her since they had arrived back in England from Norway. That wonderful kiss they had shared on the beach at Dårlig Ulv Stranden had not unfortunately been repeated since. All she had had from him were cute little pecks of kisses that left her feeling very frustrated, with him and everything else. What had happened to the man she had been promised? 

“Jonathan, you’d need special clearance to even get within ten feet of it,” she warned him.

A beaming, heart-melting smile was aimed back at her. “I’m sure you could get me in there if you wanted to. Just think, Rose; if I can get this to work and bring Mum here, what else could come through!”

Did he really mean the Doctor? Would he bring her the Doctor back if she allowed him to get his crummy mother there? It wasn’t that she didn’t know the importance of what Donna had achieved in Sutton Court and on the Crucible, but it only truly mattered to her personally because it had got her back with the Doctor, by his side, where she belonged. 

Or even better, perhaps Jonathan would be able to swap positions for her and Donna, so that they’d both be happy. 

“I’ll see what I can do,” she readily promised. This could be her ticket to happiness if she played her cards right.

She was rewarded with the adoring expression she had longed for and then a massive hug.

~~~

People expected Dr Jonathan Noble to be seen with the Vitex heiress Rose Tyler; they were often pictured together at social events in the various celebrity and society pages of London’s newspapers. Going to new places all dressed up thrilled him as much as being her beau. Probably more if he allowed himself to be totally honest. He’d become used to random people recognising him in unusual places. It practically worked in his favour as he navigated through the long featureless corridors of the subterranean world of Torchwood. He’d been down there several times now; usually accompanied, but he thought he would finally chance a solo encounter. In next to no time he swooshed through the wide plastic blind panels that made up the laboratory warehouse door.

“Good morning, Barry!” he called out to the first technician he saw. It always paid to remember people’s names; it formed better working relationships. It also made them accept your behaviour a great deal more.

“Morning Jon,” Barry cheerily called back. “You come to have another look at your project?”

“Just a sneak,” he admitted. “It can’t do any harm to look, can it?”

“None whatsoever,” Barry amiably agreed. “But make sure you sign out this time, please.”

“Will do!” he replied with a wave, and made his way over to the far distant corner of the warehouse. 

Back there, tucked behind a large consignment of disco glitter balls, was a TARDIS. To be more specific, it was that universe’s version of the TARDIS, the one that Rose had utilised to cobble together a dimension jump; although he was aware that some might have described her actions as vandalism. It was in as bad a state as the one Donna had seen in her alternate universe. 

As usual, Jonathan stroked a hand in consolation down the door frame of the TARDIS, hoping to reassure her that he would not be ripping out pieces of her to use without permission. It had been tricky to manoeuvre the situation each time he had been there with Rose, conning her into thinking his interest lay elsewhere as he reached out mentally to the tiny being that still existed within the shell. “My poor baby,” he crooned to her. “We’ll soon have you out of here.” 

She trusted him; had done since he had awakened her with the tiny piece of TARDIS coral the Doctor had given him on that god forsaken Norwegian beach. Each day she waited for him to appear, forming a stronger bond with each passing moment until she finally would be able to provide him with his dream. The act would possibly kill her, since she was still relatively weak compared to the TARDIS he was used to, and much smaller in size, but she was willing to sacrifice herself for him, her very own pilot. It was her destiny, so she would give herself gladly.

“Tomorrow I will come back and liberate you,” he whispered as he continued with his tender caresses; and felt her coo in return. “You are too beautiful to leave you caged up in here.”

A flutter of approval twirled through his mind as she giggled with delight. Nobody else had ever made her feel this good. Yes, she would willingly do this for him.

Placing his lips against her casing one last time before walking away, he promised, “Soon.”

~~~


	2. Chapter 2

Far away in another universe, Donna Noble despondently drained her coffee mug and considered her options as she scanned the latest edition of the London Evening Standard. A deep sigh escaped from her lips. Would she ever be able to afford somewhere decent to live other than her mother’s? Every advertised place was far too expensive for her meagre savings and Shaun, her fiancé, earned hardly anything worth shouting about. His money was spent before it was even out of his pocket.

It was then that she happened upon an advert buried amongst the announcements, from Channel 4 asking for volunteers to be filmed for a new programme about people coping with life events in the current economic climate of modern post-planets in the sky Britain. Not only that, but they were offering the participants a sizeable fee for participating. Exactly what it was available upon applicants’ request. Oh wow! This could solve all of her problems in one fell swoop. All the production people wanted them to do was be filmed going through the preparations for their wedding. 

Easy peasy, Donna decided as something inside her yearned to take part in such a public programme. It might mean that local companies would give them freebies, there could be invitations to be a guest on other shows; she might become a reality TV star with all the benefits that would entail! You know; interviewed by Philip Schofield on This Morning, or if it really took off, by Graham Norton. He was her mum’s absolute favourite. Still, it might get her mother off her back whilst giving her ammunition to boast with. This idea just got better and better. 

Reaching across the table to grab hold of her handbag, she then rifled through the numerous pockets until she found her mobile phone. It was always kept well hidden within its depths as though she were fiercely protective of it; which was true. Nobody was allowed to casually borrow Donna Noble’s phone, let alone search through its contents! God forbid. No, something inside her mind insisted that everything on it was a closely guarded secret, to be shared with no one, no matter how weird they thought she was for being so possessive. 

Feeling supremely confident, she dialled the number offered in the advert, and went into professional mode once it was answered. “Hello, is this Channel 4? I’m calling about the participation advert you put in tonight’s Evening Standard. My name is Donna Noble and I plan to get married in the spring.”

The voice on the other end asked for her email address and then promised to send an application form to be printed, filled out and returned by post, since it also required a signed consent form. Donna only too happily obliged. 

Smiling with satisfaction, she ended the call and only then considered phoning Shaun to tell him about the television programme. Well, it wasn’t as though he would refuse her, was it? She’d found that out the first time she had got all tearful about not being able to remember much about the previous three years of her life. Since the whole planets in the sky incident she had been ridiculed several times about not knowing a thing about it; not even knowing where she had been when it had happened or what had occurred down the High Street when some weird pepper pot things had blown up Woolworths. 

The year after that had been an extremely tough time for Donna as she realised how much of her memory was missing. For instance, she had lost the last months of her father’s life as he battled with cancer. In her desperate bid to get something back, she had tried out several doctors and therapists to try and get to the bottom of it all. One friendly psychologist had suggested that she had blanked it out as a trauma too painful to cope with. Unfortunately Donna thought that was a load of bull, and was adamant that there was no way that she would have been too scared to face up to the facts of his death, that something was afoot. That little outburst had gained her a psychiatrist instead, and a course of group sessions to sit through that she utterly detested. She wanted help, not a motley crew of attention-seeking idiots who went on and on about not getting enough benefits from the government now that its financial resources were even more stretched than normal. Yes, such an attitude soon had her shunned by the whole group; and she’d been politely asked to leave for her own sake. Blow the lot of ‘em! She didn’t need them and their whining anyway. What she needed was her bloody memories back, because someone had obviously nicked them. 

Perhaps she wouldn’t mention all of that when she had her interview with the production company? Yes, that would be a good idea, she resolved. There was no doubt in her mind that she would get further than the first steps in the application process; to her it was a no brainer that she be picked. After all, she had watched numerous reality television programmes and knew the score where picking participants was concerned. If they didn’t pick her and Shaun they’d need their heads examined. 

So when the invitation to go for an interview came through the door, Donna was not surprised in the slightest. Instead she was quite smug. Shaun, however, was mortified by the whole process, and even suggested trying out some practice questions in front of a camera.

“Don’t be so daft,” Donna had chastised him. “All you have to do is sit there and answer the questions correctly.”

“I don’t know,” he had meekly confessed. “Perhaps it’s best if I let you do all the talking.”

She had nodded her agreement. “Good idea, Shaun. Just leave it to me,” she advised.

~~~

Donna glanced confidently at Shaun as they sat on soft leather covered high back chairs in front of a large imposing desk inside the offices of Gaul & Frey Productions. The office block itself had been fairly inconspicuous, nestled as it was between two Victorian built houses; and could easily have been mistaken for a church except that the architecture was slightly off for that. Plenty of light streamed into the tastefully decorated room, and a willing secretary had almost fallen over herself to provide tea as soon as they had arrived.

But all of Donna’s concentration was on the producer of the reality show who was interviewing them. Shaun might have thought that her interest was partly down to the fact that Mr McLellan was, in Donna’s words, drop dead gorgeous. Even the expensive dark suit that hung elegantly on his slim frame seemed to think so. His floppy brown hair hung over his face in such a style that you wanted to sweep his fringe out of the way in order to give you a better view of his intense grey eyes which seemed to swirl like the mist over clear blue water. To add to his perfection, the man spoke with a cultured voice that must have had women swooning at twenty paces. For some reason Shaun found that he hated him on sight; well, he would have hated him but he couldn’t quite bring himself to do so. If Donna liked him then he was all too willing to go along for the ride, as it were, and trust her instincts. 

Adam McLellan peered over his designer reading glasses at the couple sat in front of him. They made a most unusual pair. She was extremely fair skinned, almost to the point of giving her a ghost-like quality if it weren’t for the make-up she wore; with a cascade of long ginger hair that framed her face beautifully. Sat next to her was a man of mixed race, with large soulful eyes, a very pleasant face and short black hair that added to his friendly exterior. He had a quality that made him the yin to her yang, and vice versa. The woman did practically all the talking whilst the man hardly said a word unless prompted deliberately to do so, perfectly happy to let the woman take the lead. As a television couple they would possibly make an ideal comedy duo or provide a statement about modern integration. 

Yes, they were ideal for this project, Adam quickly decided; and he scribbled a symbol onto his notes that signified that. All he needed now was approval for the whole project and he could get this couple quickly signed up. It was a mere technicality that awaited a signature from the higher ups.

“Welcome to the project,” Adam pleasantly ended the interview by saying, standing to loom over them both. “I shall be sending a camera team to start acclimatising you on Monday; actual filming will probably begin in two weeks’ time. Is that okay with you both?” He then smiled his widest, most handsome smile at them, knowing that it had the power to assure even the nerviest of contestants from being afraid. 

“That will be fine,” Donna hurriedly agreed. As far as she was concerned, the sooner they started filming, the quicker they would start to get paid and provide for the wedding. If things worked out well, they could be set up for life. 

“Then we’ll meet again on Monday,” Adam pleasantly responded before shaking first Shaun’s hand and then Donna’s.

Oh! He inwardly gasped as he shook her hand, taking great care to conceal his reaction. It would not do for her to be aware that something had passed between them. It deeply puzzled him that she had a familiar ring to his senses, as though he ought to know her. Such things did not normally happen but he couldn’t dismiss it because it had occurred when he shook her hand on meeting her too. Once was coincidence; twice was not, and had to be investigated. 

“So… what did you think of Adam?” Shaun tried to nonchalantly ask Donna as they left the building and headed purposefully towards somewhere to grab a sandwich for lunch. 

She was already planning something else, and was caught out by his question. “Adam in there, you mean? Oh, I dunno. He seemed nice enough; hopefully not all style and no content. But…,” she hesitated, and then looked slight guilty. 

Shaun steeled himself to be told news that he’d find unpleasant. “But what?” he forced himself to ask.

To his dismay, she looked even more sheepish.

“You’re going to find this daft, but I couldn’t help feeling that I know him,” she confessed. 

Did he find that daft? Worrying, perhaps, but not daft. “You could have bumped into him in some office somewhere,” he offered a theory.

“No, I don’t think it is that,” she disagreed. “It’s probably me being mad, getting this feeling about him, like I should know him when I’ve never met him before. Well, as far as I know.”

“Totally bonkers,” Shaun agreed in order to tease her. 

Fortunately she laughed, and batted at his arm playfully. “Yes, I must be mad because I’m marrying you.”

“Best decision you’ve ever made,” he retorted, and reached out to pull her close.

As always, she resisted at the last moment, not allowing him to gain close intimacy with her. He was allowed to hold her, but not to cuddle her tight. It used to deeply offend him that she held him off in such a way; and that she’d let him kiss her but not go for a snogging session leading on to things more arousing. It wasn’t her being mysterious, she assured him, and being married would help her overcome her reticence. If it didn’t she would seek professional help, she’d readily promised when he had pointed out that a man cannot get by with fleeting kisses. It would be inhuman to expect him to live with her being standoffish, hence the desperate need to arrange the wedding. A man has needs, after all; even a man who is as patient as him. 

The topic had sort of cropped up during a conversation with Wilf once. Her grandfather had assumed that they were having a very intimate relationship, since most engaged couples of their age wouldn’t even think to wait; and Shaun had let slip that he could dream of such a thing.

“Ah,” Wilf had exclaimed knowingly. “That makes sense, considering.”

“Considering what?” Shaun had pressed. 

“Well, my girl could live with a man for months if not years and not expect that sort of thing to happen,” Wilf had unhelpfully explained. 

As far as Shaun knew, Donna had never lived with a man for a long time. Sylvia had said that Donna had once had her own flat before being engaged to someone called Lance, but that he hadn’t lived with her during the six months they’d known him. Then Sylvia asked him not to mention Lance in front of Donna; sworn him to secrecy in fact. The story was that Lance’s death had been very traumatic for everyone involved, especially because he’d been a wrong ‘un, treating her Donna like scum by moonlighting with the honeymoon money and another woman. He’d been caught in the debris from that blown up alien star a few Christmases back, and drowned in the Thames. All very unpleasant. Apparently all they had left of him was some DNA samples to identify the body.

“Did erm…. Did Donna live with a man during the time of her memory loss?” Shaun risked asking Wilf.

It gained a flurry of panicky behaviour. “Oh my! Would you look at the time,” Wilf had blustered. “There’s nothing for you to worry about, lad,” he had continued, patting him on the arm. “There was someone for a while, but we don’t talk about him. Best not to. We’d only upset Donna, and my girl has been through enough. What with her head injury and everything. No, you keep on looking after her like you have been. You’ve been a godsend.”

Unfortunately Shaun did not feel like a godsend in her life a couple of days later.

~~~

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **A/N:** this is how I envisage Adam McLellan
> 
> so I hope you approve. :) 


	3. Chapter 3

True to his word, Adam turned up on Donna’s doorstep promptly at 7 o’clock the following Monday morning. With him stood a man who would be accompanying Donna for the next foreseeable months.

“Hello, Donna!” Adam cheerfully greeted her when she opened her front door. “Good to see you this fine morning. This is Jerry.” He indicated towards the man by his side who hastily stuck out a hand for Donna to shake. “He’ll be with you alone for the next two weeks and then the rest of the crew will follow.”

“Two weeks? You poor bloke,” Donna threw in Jerry’s direction. “Why aren’t the crew joining us yet?” she aimed at Adam.

He wrapped an arm around her shoulders and guided her inside and away from prying eyes. That slight electric shock he had got from contact with her before came marching back, but he gamely ignored it. He had his suspicions as to what it was, but he was prepared to wait until he gained a definite answer for it. Stepping into her flat, he waited for the door to close behind them before he conspiratorially told her, “We have to acclimatise you to the camera first, so that you will act more naturally for the programme. Hopefully you can see the logic in that. We wouldn’t want to waste precious film, would we?”

Seeing his charming smile, Donna readily agreed, “I suppose not. So Jerry here has an empty camera?”

“Oh no,” Jerry explained. “I will be shooting footage, but it will be on rewriteable media since there isn’t much likelihood of us using it.”

“That’s okay then,” she acknowledged. “Would you like some tea before I go to work?”

“Before _we_ go to work,” Jerry corrected her.

“You’ll have to get used to having a shadow,” Adam added as she led them through into her small kitchen. “Nice flat. Have you lived here long? It’s ideal as a starter home.”

Donna switched the filled kettle on. “I’ve not been here long. There didn’t seem much point to get anywhere until I met Shaun.” She then turned to fully regard Adam. “Have we met before, I mean other than my interview the other day?”

Jerry chuckled. “He gets that an awful lot. Women are always hitting on him.”

“Oh!” Donna blushed and hastily turned her face away. Oh gawd! That’s all she needed; somebody thinking she was after them. “Good job you’re not my type then,” she muttered. “I’m getting married.”

“Don’t let that stop you,” Adam good-naturedly retorted, wanting to put her at her ease with some harmless flirting. It was what people usually did in these situations after all.

This gained a guffaw from Jerry. He hadn’t meant to set this tension up, and he was only too willing to break it. “I hope you’ve warned people I’ll be following you around, otherwise your Shaun is going to get some very odd messages about your behaviour.”

“Shaun?” Donna blinked in confusion as though she hadn’t just mentioned him at all. Where had she been for a few seconds? Off in another brown study, no doubt. “He’s used to my behaviour seeming odd at times. It’s a good job he makes allowances; especially after that business at Christmas.”

That started up a conversation between her and Jerry about the large planet that she had missed, like lots of other important stuff, yet again. 

That sounded like something else entirely to Adam’s keen ears as he observed this. His mind was screaming at him to view her from a different perspective entirely. There was something reaching out, connecting them, and he silently resolved to get to the bottom of this.

~~~

Feeling extremely confident, Jonathan breezed into Torchwood the following morning. So far everything had gone to plan without too many mishaps.

The normal people greeted him with nods in the lift when he entered, and soon they were headed upwards from the foyer. As the doors opened for his normal floor a little amateur dramatics came into play, and he patted his pockets as though he were looking for something.

“You not coming?” one associate asked him, her head bobbing in concern when he didn’t step out of the lift.

“I erm… I need to go back and get my…,” he vaguely answered as the doors slide gently closed; and he then breathed a sigh of relief when the lift travelled downwards and away from his office floor. 

Another thing to tick off his mental list, in case anyone was paying attention. As for them being concerned when he disappeared, well, a tiny part of him cared, but on the whole he had resigned himself to this situation. It would be another mystery for future employees to solve.

In next to no time he was down in Torchwood’s subterranean world, striding down a corridor purposefully towards his task. 

“What are you doing down here?” Barry the technician quizzed him as he saw him arrive. 

Jonathan pointed at his shirt. “I forgot my thingie when I was down here last. I’d forget my head if it wasn’t screwed on. The things you do to get in a meeting!” he answered as pleasantly as he could, walking past the technician.

Barry had no part in the corporate world, and knew that his visitor often rubbed shoulders with the likes of Pete Tyler. It had never even occurred to him to find out in what capacity. “Hurry up or you’ll need a late note from your mum to avoid detention,” Barry joked to the retreating figure.

That didn’t amuse his guest as much as it should have, despite the feigned laugh, but fortunately Barry was oblivious to this fact. Instead he returned to his own task, not knowing that the joke had spurred Jonathan on to complete his plans as soon as possible.

The far corner of the workshop was devoid of any other person as Jonathan scurried about, picking up last minute supplies, and dismissing what he thought would be irrelevant. It took a few emergency batteries, replacement bulbs, some extra cable wiring because you never know when you’ll need it, and he thought he was ready.

Taking out from his pocket the crude sonic screwdriver he had concocted, he plugged it into the console and waited for the TARDIS to react. A faint buzzing noise immediately to surround him, and then the central pillar lit up with a faint blue light.

She would need to warm up a little bit, so he stepped outside to give her a chance to acclimatise herself to the new device before they set off. 

“Come on, you can do it. That’s it,” Jonathan breathily crooned encouragement to his TARDIS. “Just a few more minutes and we’ll be done.” With a loving touch to the frame, he turned…

….and found himself face to face with three armed guards.

“Whoa!” he exclaimed in surprise. It had been a while since he had had a weapon pointed at him. “What’s going on with the guns? Did I miss out on the fancy dress invites? I thought it was a mufti day today.”

“Very funny, Dr Noble,” a very familiar voice behind him stated.

Closing his eyes briefly, he’d known this meeting was inevitable, but it didn’t make it any less unwelcome. “Surely we know each other well enough by now to use first names. Since when did we become so formal, Miss Tyler,” he retorted. 

Rose slowly appeared to his side in his periphery vision and walked to stand by the three armed guards. “Since you stole Torchwood technology,” she informed him. “Theft is normally an instant dismissal, you should know that; but you’ve been very busy in other ways.”

“I’m always busy, Rose. You’ll have to be more specific than that,” he taunted. “I assume you mean this behind me. Theft can also be seen as liberation, you know. It’s strange how you were quite keen for me to get my hands on these artefacts. What changed your mind?” 

How dare he try to include her in his despicable offences! “Hands up, Dr Noble,” she warned him, distancing herself from his crimes and signalling to a guard to point his gun more menacingly at the man in front of them “You’ve overstepped your criteria.”

“Oh, the criteria!” he proclaimed as though he had just remembered that dogs eat meat. “Which criteria would we be referring to here? Is it the one where you wanted me to get my mother here so that your personal life could improve drastically; or is it the one where I get her to swap places with you so that you can have the Doctor back? Hmm, which one will it be? My money is on the daddy option. That’s my dad but your father issues.”

Her features grew dark with anger, incensed that he had betrayed her trust and that the secrets of her heart had been publicly revealed. “Keep your filthy mouth shut!” she bit out in disgust. “Is that the sort of thing you think you can say to me now, when we have caught you in the act?”

“Well, I’d try saying ‘stop pointing those bloody big guns at me,’ but I don’t think it will work,” he mock teased. “Obviously you’ve been thinking of pointing them at me for quite a time.”

“Our suspicions were raised quite a while ago, but Torchwood has needed to closely monitor your movements to catch you in the act,” Rose reluctantly admitted. “You haven’t made this easy for us; for any of us.” His betrayal bit deep into her heart as she thought of her family.

“How wizard!” Jonathan sarcastically muttered. 

The three guards instantly took off the safety catches. “Just give us the word, Miss Tyler,” the guard leader said as he awaited orders.

“Look, you don’t have to do this,” Jonathan tried to reason, holding his hands up in surrender. “There’s plenty of room in this TARDIS if we breathed in rather a lot.”

“How would we know what is in there? You haven’t even let me peep in,” Rose complained.

“Haven’t I? How remiss of me,” he drawled. “But then again… I didn’t want to!” 

On the last word he turned and ran towards the TARDIS, aiming for the door that was standing slightly ajar.

It took less than three seconds to get there, but he heard behind him the order “Fire!” and bullets whizzed by. 

One narrowly missed his head, embedding itself into the outer woodwork, and he thought he had escaped unscathed as he slammed shut the doors. Locking them for good measure, he noticed blood on his fingertips, dribbling down from beneath his sleeve. How had that got there?

He didn’t have time to check because he had to get the TARDIS out of there. Already the guards outside were firing upon the lock and attempting to kick the door in.

Feeling elation as well as apprehension, he pushed the little blue button, the TARDIS leapt into action, and the whole structure shuddered with the effort to break through the only available crack left between the universes. It would need careful piloting, as the margin of error was extremely tight. Cranking a lever, he noticed the trail of blood that was over everything, getting darker as it dried and leaving larger splats the further he moved away from the door. 

Gingerly, he moved the edge of his jacket aside and looked to see where the damage was. Oh shit! He’d been shot at least once if not twice. The lining of his jacket was smothered in blood, especially against his back. A bullet must have gone straight through him. At this rate he would bleed to death if he didn’t get help. There was nowhere for him to self-medicate on board; she just wasn’t up to it, poor thing. A sob swelled up in him; he might not make it.

Looking up at the rotor, he pleaded with his TARDIS. “Please get me to Mum. Please, baby! I want to see her one more time before I have to die,” he tearfully begged, “before we both die.”

There was some frantic shaking as he desperately hung onto anything he could as the TARDIS fought her way out to the ‘real’ universe; but then it all stopped abruptly. Nothing much happened. The silence engulfed him as he stood waiting, hoping and praying. Then all the lights dimmed, leaving only a few faint spots of light on the console to let him see what he was doing.

This was it, the very end. It was out of his hands now whether he would see anyone ever again. Tenderly, he stroked the console, knowing she was doing her very best for him. 

“We tried, didn’t we, baby? They can’t say we didn’t. I hope she would have been proud of me. I dunno about Dad, but she made me feel loved as much as you did. Goodbye,” he near whimpered, and fought the urge to pass out as dizziness overcome him. 

With her last breath, the TARDIS landed with a heavy thump, and then lay there dormant, willing her pilot to leave her for the last time and find some help. But he wasn’t moving. In a last ditch effort, she opened the doors wide and left a single light over him, welcoming any passer-by in to come and look as he slumped against the lifeless console.

She didn’t need to hear his sobs to know that his heart had broken.

~~~


	4. Chapter 4

By the third day, Donna began to barely notice Jerry following her around. When she did, she found herself pitying him for being foisted with watching her type away, eat her sandwiches or drink her morning cup of coffee. Thank goodness the production company hadn’t decided to force him to also sleep in her flat. It was only a one bedroom place, for goodness sake, and all she’d be able to offer him was the settee or the spot next to her in the bed. Yes, a really good idea that he didn’t. 

To save him hours of boredom and battling through the legalise to allow filming in all the places she temped at, it had quickly been decided that he would merely observe her eating breakfast and then return at the end of her working day to observe a couple of hours relaxing before going to bed. Not that there was much to see; not even romantic evenings snuggled up with Shaun. 

No, poor Shaun had volunteered to work all the hours God sent in order to scrape together some extra money before the wedding. He had treats planned, he had told Donna, and had then smiled that sweet smile of his. 

As it turned out, most of Jerry’s efforts would be needed at the weekend, when most of the wedding plans were examined, cogitated and then efficiently carried out. It looked as though it was going to be a successful working relationship. Donna was eternally grateful that Jerry didn’t comment or judge her; he merely filmed whilst giving her the odd thumbs up. Yes, it was going swimmingly.

The second weekend of filming had Sylvia giving Donna a mouthful about how sacrifices had been made so that the wedding of her dreams could go ahead, that money doesn’t grow on trees, and that Donna should be thankful someone was finally willing to consider marrying her at her advanced age. Everybody else was married well before the age of thirty let alone forty.

Incensed that her mother should drag up all the old arguments against her, Donna let rip. “It didn’t take you long to revert back to your old ways, did it! Don’t think I hadn’t noticed all the tiptoeing around you’d been doing,” she accused Sylvia, using a well-applied irate digit. “I have done nothing but work my hardest with everything I do but it’s never been good enough for you! Even when I find someone to love and marry, you can’t be pleased for me. Have you ever totally approved of any man I’ve brought home?”

“Shaun is better than some I could name,” Sylvia bit back, “but he’s not exactly dynamic, is he? He hardly earns two pennies to rub together. You’ll be living in squalor for the rest of your life, in some poky little flat.”

“Sylve, leave the girl alone,” Wilf ordered as he entered his kitchen through the patio doors, wanting to stop the argument. “That’s enough!”

“But Dad! She needs to know,” Sylvia insisted. “She can’t carry on going through life in this dolly daydream. She has to face up to facts.”

“And you think she ain’t?” Wilf argued. “Just you remember what she has seen and done.”

“Thanks Gramps,” Donna said gratefully. “As for you,” she directed at Sylvia, “you can get off my back as soon as you like! I don’t need all this. If the only thing you can do is moan at me, I’m going home!”

Having said her piece and seeing that her mother would not back down, Donna turned on her heel and stomped away; eventually slamming the front door for good effect.

Waiting for Donna to storm out, Wilf sat down at the kitchen table and contemplated his daughter. “I don’t understand you at times. He _told_ you what she had done, what she had become, and you still doubt that she can be anything; do anything,” he sadly told her.

“It isn’t as straightforward as that,” Sylvia huffed. “I know what Donna is capable of, but she rarely reaches her full potential. It’s as if she’s waiting for something all the time.”

“Perhaps she is,” Wilf agreed. It all had such a familiar ring to it.

Jerry stopped filming them as curiosity overtook him. “Excuse me,” he asked with a polite cough, “I hope you don’t mind me asking, but what did Donna become and who told you? It doesn’t sound like anything Shaun would have done.”

“Oh my gawd! I forgot you was there for a moment,” Wilf cried out in mild panic. He instantly looked to Sylvia for help. 

“We were talking about an old boss of Donna’s when she got the chance for promotion once,” she hastily explained, her brain going nineteen to the dozen to think up a plausible story. “He was very impressed with her. Wasn’t he, Dad?”

“Oh yes!” Wilf eagerly agreed. “In fact he loved her for it… In a totally… you know, sort of way. Look, why don’t I make us all some tea?” 

“Thank you, but I have to catch up with Donna,” Jerry answered, thumbing towards the door. “And I’ve already almost lost her. Bye then!” 

Rushing out of the house, he made a mental note to pass this piece of information onto the programme producer when the full team turned up on the Monday. It could add a delightful side issue to this wedding topic.

~~~

Drawing in deep breathes; Jonathan tried to force himself to move from the console. The pain was raging in his body now, threatening to swamp his ailing senses. He was alone wherever the TARDIS had landed, and he wasn’t sure that he could cope with spending his last moments without someone by his side.

Taking one cautionary step, he cried out in agony. He had counted two bullets lodged within his body, once he had allowed himself to check properly. The blood that had dripped down his arm from his sleeve, leaving a trail like a hunted animal, had come from a wound in his shoulder. All the blood on the inside of his jacket came from a bullet that had caught his liver and shattered a kidney. 

It wouldn’t be long now, he kept murmuring to himself as he headed towards the TARDIS doors, still keen to see where he had ended up. With luck it would be somewhere pretty.

Five tortuous steps later, he reached the exit and looked out; instantly recognising where he was. “Thank God!” he uttered. “Gramps,” he whimpered as he tried to guide his feet forward.

His TARDIS had landed them right outside the home of Wilfred Mott and Sylvia Noble; all his inherited memories told him so. 

As soon as he stepped out, his little TARDIS reverted back to its natural state, looking like a tiny monolith, nestled as it was within the bushes outside the house. But Jonathan wasn’t paying attention. His eyes were focused on reaching the front door.

Lifting a feeble hand, he knew he had to ring the doorbell; that no one would come to his aid unless he did. His index finger was within two feet of its target when the door was thrust open and a shocked face saw him.

“What on earth happened to you?” Donna demanded as she stepped out and slammed the door behind her. Peering closer at him, she pronounced, “John Smith! Are you alright? I’ll phone for an ambulance. Oh my God, you’re bleeding from everywhere! Who did this to you? I’ll skin them alive…”

“M-Mum,” he stammered out, interrupting her anxious tirade. “I’m not John Smith. It’s me, Jonathan; your son.”

“My son?!” she questioned, knowing deep within her that this was true. Something deadly swirled around inside her head. “You can’t be him. You were taken away from me.”

He forced a pleased smile out. She remembered him, and she had obviously missed him, judging by her tone. “I came back to you. Built myself a machine from a dying TARDIS to get here.”

“TARDIS,” she murmured as images bombarded her mind. Hundreds of images that threatened to consume her as the fire grew within her; and he rushed forward to grasp her arms. “It’s not safe for you to stand here, Sweetheart,” she warned as her skin began to glow. “I’m about to explode.”

“It doesn’t matter,” he insisted, wrapping himself around her body. “I got shot escaping, I’m fatally injured and I want to die with you.”

“Oh Jonathan,” she gasped in despair, and pressed a loving kiss to his cheek. “I love you,” she whispered.

There was no time for him to respond, because she burst into vibrant, golden flames that consumed them both. The force of the burst caused him to release his hold on Donna, but he was held within the force field. 

Seconds later he staggered backwards, his bottom hitting his defunct TARDIS as he did so. Donna stood with her eyes tightly shut and her arms thrown wide as the flames died away; and then they both glanced at each other, unable to believe that they still existed.

“What happened?” she rasped out.

“Regeneration energy…,” he began to say, and then grasped his throat in surprise. “How wizard! I sound way different!”

“You look different too,” she remarked. “All sort of young. Like you, but loads younger. What about me?” 

“Not much different,” he replied after weighing up the changes. “A little bit younger, and still beautiful.”

“Give over!” she scorned. “You’ve still got the gift of the gab, I see.”

He laughed, overjoyed to feel no pain anymore, and with the promise this entailed. “Do you remember me?”

“Of course I do! I remember everything but without your dad in my head,” she assured him. “Come here and give me a hug.”

That was all the encouragement he needed, and he rushed to be crushed into a hug from her. It was the best feeling in the world if not the universe! “By the way, I love you too,” he whispered.

“Look at the state of you. Thank gawd the street was deserted when this happened. They’d have thought we’d just committed a horrific murder, with the amount of blood all over you and now on me,” she commented. “Let’s get you home. You’re having a shower and then we’re finding you some clean clothes.”

“Yes, Mum,” Jonathan contritely replied, but he’d never been happier. 

He had his mum back, and it didn’t get better than that!

~~~

Jerry ran up the last of the stairs that led to Donna’s ~~poky~~ tiny flat, breathless with the effort. When Donna opened the door, he accused her with, “Where did you get to so quickly? I’ve been looking everywhere, and I had to run all the way.”

“Sorry I had to leave you, but I had a bit of an emergency to deal with,” Donna cautiously explained. Damn! She’d totally forgotten Jerry would follow her. “You’d better come in and see for yourself,” she added, opening the door wide in invitation.

He stepped in wondering what he would be faced with. It all looked rather normal. Then he heard “Mum? Have you got any more toothpaste? This one has run out!” before a teenage boy stepped out of Donna’s bathroom.

The lad had obviously just stepped out of the shower, standing there in only a towel, with sopping wet hair and water dripping down his bare chest. He gave a startled squeak when he saw Jerry pointing a camera at him, and did his best to curl up into a ball whilst standing still; his hands thrown over his torso in self-defence. 

“Mum! There’s a man filming me!” he wailed.

Donna appeared holding a fresh box of toothpaste, placed it in his hand, and then gently nudged him back into the bathroom. “Don’t worry, that’s just Jerry,” she calmly told him. “Your clean clothes are on the bed. Get yourself dressed, and I’ll explain all when you come out.”

All Jerry saw was the panic on the boy’s face before Donna closed the bathroom door on him and then turned to smile reassuringly. “You’ve probably guessed that he’s my sudden emergency. I’ll put the kettle on while I explain.”

She beckoned him to follow her into the kitchen, and she bustled about filling the kettle, switching it on, and then collecting mugs from her mug tree to make three teas. Only then did she pause to talk.

Leaning against the worktop as the tea brewed, she said, “You’ve just seen my son, Jonathan. I haven’t seen him in ages; years, in fact.” She hastily wiped away some tears. “I really thought I’d never see him again. He got taken away from me, you see, when I had my accident; the one that was bad enough to wipe out years of my life. They said I couldn’t keep him so he was given to a different family who live quite a distance from here, far away.” The tears continued to flow down her face and she tried to stem them using her fingers and the back of her hands. “But he found me this afternoon when I left Mum’s. I stepped out the door and there he was; just standing there on the pavement! He came all that way on his own,” she added proudly. 

“His foster family… Do they know that he is here?” Jerry asked, worried that she would fall foul of the courts.

“Yes, they do,” she answered, as she reached out for some paper kitchen towel to mop her face. “He doesn’t have to go back there ever again. He’s here to stay.” Her countenance then crumpled into wracking sobs as she declared, “I’ve got my son home with me; I’ve finally got my son!”

It was beyond Jerry to let her keep crying and not offer any comfort; so he put his camera down and offered her a hug. “You must be so pleased,” he commented, rather futilely to his ears, but what else could he have said?

“You don’t know the half of it,” she sobbed. “I’ve got my life back.”

It sounded rather dramatic to him, but little did he know that she was speaking the complete truth.


	5. Chapter 5

In the bedroom, the person she was referring to dried himself and hurriedly dressed. When he had got out the shower after washing off the blood he’d been drenched in, the last thing he’d wanted to see was a camera shoved in his face! Anyone could discover it and use it against him; it all depended on whether he had been seen regenerating with his mother in the street. It had been bad enough on Pete’s World with all the suspicious looks he always gained because of his alien roots; and he certainly didn’t want to go through all of that again. Goodness knew how many people had seen him walking from the car into the flat and assumed he was involved in a murder. There had been enough blood on him to pin such a crime on him should any detective fancy doing so.

His hearts raced as he thought about the man standing outside with his mum; the fledgling second one only just getting into its stride. She was upset, but she was also deeply concerned about him and relieved beyond belief he was back with her. He knew this because the mental connection he shared with her had grown in the last hour or two. A familial bond, his father had called it; and in that moment all he wanted to do was rush out there, shove that nosey bloke out the door, and comfort her with the cuddle he knew she craved. Comfort that required him to remain calm. He could do that, if he tried. These adolescent hormones were all over the place, and he was still adjusting to them.

A few minutes later Jonathan appeared hesitantly at the door to Donna’s kitchen, dressed in clothing that looked oddly out of place on him. It certainly wasn’t the sort of thing teenage boys normally wore, and it looked like he was dressed in his dad’s clothes which was sort of near the truth. Jerry noted that the lad’s dark hair was much more coppery in tone now that it had dried a bit, his smooth skin still devoid of any manly stubble, and his feet were bare. But it was the piercing intelligent gaze the teen gave him from large blueish hazel eyes that caused the biggest impression; and it made him feel slightly uncomfortable under their scrutiny. 

“Hello,” he greeted them, and then held a hand up far enough to cover his face and indicate to Jerry to back off at the same time. “Why are you doing that? Is this some sort of wind up?” Jonathan wondered as he eyed the man pointing his camera at him again.

“I told you about me soon being part of a telly programme. Well, this is Jerry doing part of the pre-filming business to get us used to it,” Donna quickly explained whilst sending him a more personal message.

Gaining no verbal answer from the man, but a mental reassurance from Donna that no one was out to prank him, he went into full modest mode. “There’s no need to film me; there really isn’t. I’m not important.”

“Take no notice of him, Jerry,” Donna said, reaching out to grab hold of Jonathan’s arm and she dragged him further into the kitchen. “Your tea is the blue mug, by the way,” she added, bobbing her head towards their drinks. “This scallywag is my son, Jonathan, and he certainly _IS_ important. The most important man in my life; my whole universe,” she declared, wrapping a possessive arm around his waist. 

His arm automatically went around her shoulder as he modestly mumbled, “You’re just saying that.” Jonathan blushed, and hastily picked up his mug of tea with his other hand to sip as a distraction. A blissful expression slid across his face. “Ah! Thanks, Mum. A perfect cup of tea. Just as I like it,” he gushed.

Jerry zoomed in on Donna’s proud face as she watched her son’s actions. 

“See! I remembered!” she trilled.

The mug was replaced on the worktop surface with a satisfied clunk, and Jonathan beamed at her. He then eyed Jerry with some suspicion. “Does he have to keep filming me though? Shouldn’t he be keeping it aimed at you? He’s only bothered about the wedding, after all. I won’t come into it unless you do something daft like have me as a page boy all dressed up in a kilt.”

“Are you offering?” she mischievously queried, and laughed when he shuddered in disgust.

“Ew! Do you have to?” he whined. He then picked up his mug, having forgotten he had just finished his drink, and peered into it with contempt when he realised it was empty. “This bloke that you’re supposedly marrying… what’s he like?” he tried to nonchalantly ask as he placed his used mug into the nearby sink. “Is he anything like Dad?”

“Nothing like him,” Donna laughed. “Talk about chalk and cheese! But you’ll like Shaun. He’s a nice bloke.”

“How wizard!” Jonathan muttered, screwing his nose up. “I mean… I’m sure he’s lovely and sweet and everything,” he quickly amended when he caught himself. “But is he good enough for you?”

“Is he…?” she repeated incredulously. “Who exactly do you think I am? The Queen Mother?!”

“Nope,” he enunciated, taking care to pop the ‘p’. “You’re MY mother, and that makes you the most important woman in the whole universe.”

“Give over!” she scoffed as he grinned with pride. “I’ve warned you about using the old blarney.”

“No you didn’t! You merely pointed out that I’m gobby. Surely that’s completely different,” he argued.

She shook her head in wonder at his verbal feuding, but didn’t answer because the sound of a key being turned in the front door lock to her flat filtered in to them. “That’ll be Shaun,” she announced; and Jonathan instantly paled in terror.

“Hello Donna!” Shaun called out as he entered the flat. “Hello Jerry,” he added as he saw him wielding his camera. “And who’s this?” he asked with obvious interest as he spotted an adolescent teenage boy standing in the kitchen wearing his spare shirt and jeans, and not much else. 

‘Ooh goodie!’ Jerry thought as he aimed the camera lens at Shaun and held up a thumb in greeting. ‘This should be good.’

Donna put a protective hand on Jonathan’s sleeve, acting as a barrier between her fiancé and her son. “Shaun, I’d like to meet someone very special to me. This is Jonathan,” she cautiously began. “Jonathan, this is the man I’m going to marry.”

“Pleased to meet you, Jonathan,” Shaun greeted the lad, offering his hand to shake. He couldn’t help wondering why he got a glare as well as a muted shake in return. “Is this your cousin’s boy?” There was a quality about him that spoke of family.

“No, Shaun,” she answered after gulping nervously. “Jonathan is my son.”

Surely this was a joke? “Ha ha, very funny, Donna,” Shaun tried to wave the irritation in him off by saying. “Who is he really?”

“Her son, moron,” Jonathan testily said, and got instantly whacked on the arm by her.

“Don’t be so cheeky!” Donna threatened him. “You weren’t so with it yourself when I told you about Shaun.”

“That was not the same thing,” Jonathan protested. “I’d only just got here, and I was expecting you to… to erm…” His voice trailed off into nothing as he realised that all eyes were on him; especially Shaun, who wasn’t looking very pleased. 

“What? What were you expecting me to do? Swim the Channel?” Donna sarcastically proposed. 

“No, I thought,” Jonathan self-consciously answered, “I thought you and Dad would, you know…”

“Me and your dad?” she scoffed. “It’s not going to happen, love. His interests lie elsewhere. Have you forgotten already?” 

Jonathan gawped at her like a landed fish. How could she even suggest that?! “I wasn’t allowed to forget, was I?” he blazed. “Having to live through that stupid plan!”

“What stupid plan?” Shaun asked, reminding them that he was stood in the room. “And that isn’t the way to talk to your mother; if she really is your mother, because I seriously don’t believe it, otherwise she would have said something to me by now!” 

“Oh I am,” Donna confidently replied. “I was definitely there for his birth and everything.”

“Then why haven’t you mentioned him; EVER?” Shaun demanded. 

“Because… because….” She threw an agitated look at Jonathan.

“Because she was too heartbroken. I mean, just look at me. You’d be heartbroken too if you had to give me up,” he cheekily supplied.

“He gets that from his dad,” Donna threw in to excuse him.

“You mean to tell me that all this time you’ve had a son?! And who IS his dad?” Shaun pressed on. 

“His dad,” she repeated, hoping to gain some thinking time. “You really don’t need to worry about him,” she tried to wave off his concerns. “He ain’t never coming back here again. Not if he can help it. Isn’t that right, Jonathan?” 

He scratched the back of his neck in thought. “Well, he _could_ ; given the right circumstances,” he started to say, and then felt her glaring at him. “But on the whole, no; he doesn’t tend to go back to places.”

“Your proverbial hit and run driver,” Donna added for good measure. “So he’s completely out of the picture. Now that we’ve cleared that up, what do you want for dinner tonight?”

“Hang on,” Shaun sternly halted the change of subject. “Let’s try this from a different angle, since you’re not providing much information. Jonathan, when was the last time that you saw your father?”

Oh no! Jonathan’s eyes went wide in terror. There was no way he could answer that without putting his foot in it and getting his mother in trouble. “A while ago,” he squeaked.

“When exactly?” Shaun continued, ignoring Donna’s attempts to shush him. 

“It would have been erm… round or about the end of July 2008,” Jonathan reluctantly supplied. 

“Oh I see! That’s right when you had your accident, Donna,” Shaun reasoned out. “Isn’t that a coincidence?”

“Isn’t it,” Donna tried to cheerfully agree. “Now about this dinner…”

But Shaun could smell blood now; he knew he had them on the run. “What happened to you, Jonathan, when your father legged it?”

He didn’t like the way this Shaun bloke was trying to defame his dad but he didn’t know what else to do beside answer honestly. “I was given to the Tyler family on the other side of London to live with. That was Jackie, Pete and their daughter Rose Tyler, but they’ve got a little boy now called Tony.” 

“It’s true,” Donna confirmed. “I remembered that bit. They’ve got a lovely big posh house and pots of money.” 

“Why are you back?” Shaun quizzed him. “Why choose now?”

Grief flitted across Jonathan’s face before it was joined by anger. “I only wanted to see my mum. Is that so wrong? I’ve not been allowed to see her since the accident.”

“I’m not sending him away,” Donna stated decisively, taking another small step to keep herself between Shaun and Jonathan. “He’s staying with me.”

Shaun seemed to seethe as he stood there silently for a while. Then he announced, “I’m going to watch the telly!” And stormed off.

“Oh bugger!” Donna exclaimed to Jonathan. “We’ve gone and done it now.”

“I’m sorry, Mum! I’m so sorry. I didn’t think. Couldn’t we just… I dunno, just talk it through?” he suggested. “I could explain to him what happened to me.”

“Leave it,” she cautioned. “We need to let him sit and think it through, all calm like. Then we can discuss it properly.”

“That’s not the worst of it,” he added.

“What do you mean?” she wondered. “If this goes wrong, the wedding might be off.”

“Think, Mum,” he prodded. “Shaun isn’t the only one who hasn’t met me yet.”

“Oh shit!” she cried as she thought of her mother. “I’m doomed!”

~~~

Jerry could hardly wait to send his latest footage to McLellan! So much had happened in a short space of time; and this might be ratings gold when it was broadcast. It was just like a TV soap opera; filming it had been like living inside EastEnders. Stepping out of Donna’s flat, he pulled out his phone and dialled a number. Inevitably it went to answerphone. Well, what did he expect at that time of night on a Saturday? “Hello Adam. It’s Jerry. I’ve just finished filming at Donna’s for the day, and you would not believe the footage I’ve just shot! I’ll send it to you when I get home. Bye!”

As he spoke the words, the phone at the other end was hastily picked up. “Hello Jerry? Adam here. What exactly happened today?” the efficient voice of Adam McLellan could be clearly heard.

“Our Donna has a secret past. I thought her mum and grandfather were just being dramatic with the way they talked about her ex, but when we got to her flat, guess what! Her long lost teenage son turned up,” Jerry gleefully informed him.

There was a resigned sigh at the other end. “Jerry, did you fall asleep during Neighbours again?”

“No!” Jerry indignantly retorted. “He was fostered out when Donna had her accident, and by the way, that is still a good angle to go with; but her son is very photogenic. He could easily give those Aussies a run for their money.”

“Send me the footage,” Adam requested after thinking for a few seconds. “And don’t tell anyone else yet.”

It was no skin off Jerry’s nose to agree, for the time being. Feeling very satisfied with his efforts, he ended the call, and went merrily on his way.

As it was, he missed out on another piece of family drama.

~~~


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **A/N:** there's a small reference to James Bond in here.

They’d sat around looking glumly at each other for a while, but that didn’t make Shaun any less pleased with them. So they decided to ignore his sulky mood and generally chatted about mundane things; like how West Ham had fared, favourite comedy programmes, places they’d visited… All the normal things you discuss when you haven’t seen someone in a while; whilst drinking copious amounts of tea.

Shaun merely sat hugging his mug of tea with a sulky look on his face, glancing every now and then at Jonathan but pretending that he wasn’t. Donna couldn’t understand what had come over him. This wasn’t his normal behaviour. But then what _IS_ the normal behaviour for finding out you are about to become a stepdad to a sixteen year old? She was almost grateful when he got up out of his chair and sauntered out the room.

Going into the bathroom to use the facilities, Shaun experimentally prodded a pile of something lying in there and then called out, “Donna! Why is there a lump of clothing covered in blood in the bath?”

“Shush you,” she quietened him as she rushed in to answer him. “There’s no need to get your knickers in a twist and broadcast it for all the neighbours to hear. Jonathan had a bit of an emergency earlier. He turned up on the doorstep covered in his own blood; totally ruined his clothes unless I can cold soak all that blood out with a bit of Ariel…”

“Never mind the soap powder advert recommendation,” he tersely halted her words. “What happened to him? Why was he bleeding so much? Was it a gang fight? Because I don’t want any of that sort of knife thing around here.”

“Gang fight!” she repeated, unable to believe he had said such a thing. “He erm… he was beside himself in shock after seeing all that blood, and all you can do is accuse him of gang violence.”

“Then what was it?” Shaun demanded. “Because there isn’t a scratch on him from what I can see.”

“It was…” She wracked her brain for a plausible answer and went with the one Jonathan silently sent her. “… a massive nose bleed. Terrible, it was. You should have seen it. He’s always had them, and would often wake up in the middle of the night with his pillow sopping wet. Sneezing was a nightmare, as you can probably guess; even got sent up the hospital once, back when he first started school. They threatened to cauterise his nose. Bloody cheek!” All this was a huge lie, of course, but a woman she used to work with had all this happen to her son, so Donna knew it could be true.

“A nose bleed? All this blood from a simple nose bleed?” Shaun did not look at all impressed with this explanation. 

“You’d be surprised how much blood can come out of your nose,” she stated matter of factly. “Have you stopped sulking yet?”

He looked back at the messy pile of clothing and then back at her. “I wasn’t sulking.” 

“Yes you were,” she disagreed. “I get back most of my missing memories and my son, and you act like a four year old who has just found out the new baby is the centre of attention.”

With a shake of his head, he went to deny the allegation, and then changed his mind. “Alright, I’m upset. There, you have it!” He waved a hand towards wherever he assumed Jonathan was at that moment. “What did you expect me to do when you have a son turn up that I’ve never even heard of before? Your mum mentioned the odd bloke in your life to me, but nothing about past husbands and long term relationships.”

He said what?! “Whoa! Hold your horses, mate. I never said I was married to him!” she blurted out. “We were only together for a short time. From start to finish was just under two years.” 

Jonathan couldn’t let this conversation wander in the direction he disapproved of, so he ambled out to the doorway and peeked in at them standing by the bath. “It was close to a marriage though, wasn’t it, Mum? Dad gave you a ring and everything. Uncle Jack has the photographic evidence.”

“He does?” Shaun glared at Donna. “And who is Uncle Jack when he’s at home?” 

She gasped in shock, willing Shaun to understand. “Jack is a family friend; spent a lot of time with his dad. Look, those photos may have me in a wedding dress and him in a suit, as though we had just done the deed, but…”

“You said the vows,” Jonathan added in.

“Yes, thank you, Jonathan!” she sarcastically retorted. “We said the words, we did the ring, I was in a wedding dress but it wasn’t a real wedding. We never even got to the church,” she protested loudly. “It was a joke, sort of, if you see what I mean. Right up until that woman thing accused us of being a handsome couple.” 

It was obvious Shaun was wrestling with this new information. “Where did all this happen? Was it one of those hippy weddings in Epping Forest?”

“No, the Thames Barrier,” Jonathan eagerly put in when Donna didn’t respond immediately. “They had a lovely cuddle up there, eh, didn’t you, Mum?”

“Will you shut up!” she hissed at him through gritted teeth. “We got trapped up there. Problems with the water or something,” she added for Shaun’s sake.

He seemed to thinking through her words very carefully. “Was it legal, this wedding ceremony of yours?”

“Not unless you’re a spider,” she muttered. “No!” she denied, drawing out the single syllable. “It was a sheer coincidence that he was there in the first place, in a way. His dad really isn’t the marrying kind. Well, not unless you are blonde, apparently.”

“So he’s got himself a blonde now, has he?” Shaun teased, seeing the humour in this last bit. “Is that who he ran off with?”

“I have no idea,” Donna admitted, somewhat glumly, “but it wouldn’t surprise me in the least.”

“Unless he’s gone for ginger again,” Jonathan suddenly commented, steering this snippet towards Shaun. “Dad _loves_ ginger hair.” Okay, perhaps he shouldn’t enjoy seeing Shaun bristle with jealous anger, but he just couldn’t seem to help himself. 

“He only likes the hair colour, not the people with it,” Donna hastily amended, and grabbed hold of Jonathan’s sleeve to drag him back into the living room with her. 

So when Jonathan sung out “Yeah, you could almost call it a fetish!” she could have hit him!

“What’s your game?” she confronted him with in hushed tones that no one else could hear. “You carry on like this and I’ll knock you into next week!”

“But Mum!” he tried to defend himself. “Dad does like ginger hair. In fact he adores it. You never saw how he’d surreptitiously smell your hair when you were near him. And don’t get me started on the lingering looks...”

She slapped his shoulder. Hard. “I have two words to say to you: Rose, River.”

His face fell. “Oh! I suppose that’s true.”

“Yes it is,” she confirmed. “So stop bringing it up, this madcap idea of yours that your father is in love with me. Cos he ain’t!” 

“But he could be,” he insisted in a tiny voice.

Her hand was held aloft over him in a very threatening manner. “Button it. Right now.”

The trouble was he could feel all her disappointment, for being rejected yet again, as a worthless woman without the prospect of attracting another man if Shaun left; and he absolutely _hated_ the fact that she felt that way. He’d have done anything for her to get the love she truly deserved in her life. So far this Shaun had not impressed him in the slightest. And he knew as a teenager he was supposed to blindly hate any stepfather she presented to him, but this felt like more than that. As the DoctorDonna she ought to be adored and worshipped, not be fussing over some jealous man-child, for goodness sake! 

With a dramatic huff, he threw himself down onto the settee and pouted, but it didn’t get the reaction he wanted. Instead Donna laughed, clearly amused at his expression.

“Do you know, when you do that, you are SO like your dad,” she giggled, and sat down by his side, taking hold of his hand. “All cute and cuddly.”

Doing his level best to try and stay annoyed, he raised an eyebrow in question. “Am I?” 

She nodded encouragingly. “Definitely. Now come here you silly bugger and let me prove it.”

It was a no brainer to let her wrap her arms around his shoulders and he readily embraced her closely. Good grief, he had missed these hugs! That is, the ones he had personal received from her, plus all the ones his dad had obtained. They may not have been as frequent as the ones from Rose or Martha but they were all the more special for it. 

They broke apart when Shaun returned to his armchair. Seeing them cuddle each other with glee had made him realise that he probably wouldn’t be getting similar treatment that night. “Where’s he sleeping?”

“ _He_ has a name,” Donna pointed out, “and Jonathan will be sleeping here on the settee if he thinks he’s too old to share with me until I can get him a proper bed of some sort. You got a problem with that?” She then deliberately pulled Jonathan sideways so that he lay sprawled on the settee with his head in her lap. It had been done so that she could pet his hair and stroke his face with loving sweeps. 

Jonathan instantly found he adored the attention! Why had he never done this before? It was all he could do to stop himself from purring like a contented cat. Instead, he snuggled into her lap even more, and tried not to give Shaun a ‘ner ner de ner’ look as he peeped out through one eye. “As long as I’m with you, Mum, I don’t care,” he mumbled and gave her a squeeze.

A bemused Shaun sat watching them from his armchair. This was not the Saturday evening he had intended to spend with Donna; but then he would never have imagined being in this situation at all. There was certainly a strong bond between mother and son that hadn’t been broken by their enforced separation. It gladdened the heart to see; and he couldn’t bring himself to be jealous or angry any longer. The earlier shock had made him act out of character. 

It also struck him that he knew nothing about Jonathan’s father. Taking a moment to build up the courage to sound nonchalant, Shaun asked, “This father of Jonathan’s, what’s his name?”

“Doctor,” Donna immediately replied.

Whilst Jonathan simultaneously said, “John Smith.”

“It’s Dr John Smith,” Donna amended. 

“Doctor, eh,” Shaun commented, clearly impressed. “Did you support him through university, or is that why you didn’t get married?”

Jonathan sat up in interest whilst Donna tried not to flounder. “Well,” she began, “he already had his qualifications before I knew him. His job takes him all over the world and that, so staying in one place with me was never on the cards.”

“Dad’s a genius,” Jonathan added proudly to clear some of Shaun’s confusion. “He works as a technical consultant dealing with foreign conflicts.”

“Oh I see,” Shaun replied thoughtfully. “A bit like Q.”

“That’s it exactly. “ Jonathan grinned at him pleasantly. “Except Dad is a bit more front line.”

“Tell me about it,” Donna snorted.

“Mum went with him for a while,” Jonathan conversationally continued.

Donna tried to wave this off. “I only went for a couple of years; but it was a lot of fun, travelling to all those different places.”

“Blimey! I feel as though I don’t know you at all,” Shaun declared. “Did it end when you had Jonathan or did he go with you?”

Reluctantly, she answered, “A bit of both.”

Wanting to rescue her, Jonathan supplied, “I stayed in Cardiff with Uncle Jack most of the time. He made sure that we kept in touch with Dad.” 

“That’s nice.” Shaun nodded his approval. “So… shall we celebrate you coming home by ordering a take away? What do you say to some Chinese or a curry?”

He couldn’t have said finer words if he’d tried. “Yes please!” Jonathan loudly enthused, almost bouncing out of his seat. “I’m starving. I’d love some chow mein.”

“How about I phone through our order and you come with me in the van to pick it up?” Shaun proposed.

Jonathan’s excitement grew to new heights. “I can sit in the front of the van with you? Can I? Oh yes!”

Having phoned, Shaun indicated to Jonathan to move himself out of his seat. “Get your skates on, then we can get going.” 

“You’ll find some clean socks in the top drawer,” Donna called after him as he raced off to get his shoes from the bedroom.

In that moment all was forgiven and Jonathan loved Shaun. Who would have imagined he’d be won over with some food and riding in a van? Happily sitting next to Shaun in his van, pointing out all the places he remembered, Jonathan decided he would let this situation ride for a while until he could contact his dad. 

~~~


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **A/N:** I am so sorry for the lack of anything recently - it's been bouts of migraines interrupted by a family remembrance day.

Adam sat back in his home office chair and contemplated the hastily edited film footage Jerry had sent him. The darkness outside hadn’t forced him to switch on a single light; instead he sat in the soft glow from his computer, fiddling with the engraved pen he had received as a birthday gift. What he had seen on his screen had greatly disturbed him. If this went on, this interloper from a previous relationship, it could sabotage the whole wedding project. It would need a personal touch, to make sure the drama unfolding worked in their favour, so he decided to turn up on Donna’s doorstep as soon as possible to assess the situation for himself. The key question being, should the audience root for the current Shaun and Donna relationship, or should they favour this mystery ex-lover the boy had mentioned. Sometimes audiences liked stability and sentimentality. It would all depend on the circumstances.

Having made his decision, Adam shut down his personally built computer and easily made his way through the half-light that the street lamp outside provided to make his way to bed. All he would need was a few hours of sleep, five at the most, and then he would make his way towards Chiswick.

~~~

Driving his van along, Shaun was surprised how well this little trip with Jonathan had turned out. The lad had been extremely excited in the shop, perusing the menu with keen interest before making his final choice; all the while keeping up a constant stream of chatter that made Shaun like him more with each passing minute. Although Jonathan looked nothing like his mother he certainly sounded exactly like Donna. a fact that only worked in his favour as far as Shaun was concerned.

He glanced across at where Jonathan sat quietly on his front passenger seat clutching the bag of precious Chinese takeaway. “Have you any plans for when you start work?” Shaun asked as pleasantly as he could to kick-start a conversation.

“Oh I’ve already been working for a while,” Jonathan answered absently. He’d been thinking about how he could build a sonic screwdriver of some sort with the bits and pieces he’d seen lying about in his mum’s home; and was quietly constructing a list of components he’d have to acquire elsewhere.

“Doing what? A little something in a shop?”

Trying to keep the sneer out of his voice and failing, Jonathan retorted, “No, not a shop. It was in a research lab.”

Impressed, Shaun uttered, “Wow! How did you get that?” 

He couldn’t fail to notice Jonathan deliberately peering in the opposite direction out of the window as he replied, “Pete arranged it. He’s a top bloke.” Turning his head back towards Shaun, he added, “Pete and Jackie Tyler made me very welcome when I was left with them all.”

“That must have been hard for you,” Shaun sympathised. “Sorry, mate.”

“Thanks.” Jonathan did his best to smile. “Dad probably didn’t think how hard it would be when he…” He let out a gasp of horror, praying that Shaun wouldn’t ask him to explain and remain distracted as he pulled into a parking spot outside Donna’s block of flats.

Alas Shaun had heard and wasn’t daft. He turned the engine off and quietly asked him, “What did your dad do, Jonathan? I promise not to tell your mum unless you want me to.”

Oh God, oh God! Jonathan composed himself to reveal this terrible truth. “It was Dad’s idea that I go to Jackie’s. He thought it was best for everyone if I went and stayed with R-” He steeled himself to speak her name properly for the first time back in this universe. “With Rose, my girlfriend. Well, she’s not my girlfriend anymore. Never going back there again.”

“What did you do?” Shaun wondered knowingly. “I’m sure she’ll get over it if we arrange for her to get some flowers or something.”

To his surprise, hope didn’t bloom all over Jonathan’s face. Instead it went stony. “That’s nice of you to say, but I don’t want to win her back. It’s thanks to her that I was soaked in my own blood yesterday. And don’t try to tell me it was an accident because she did it deliberately.”

Not knowing what to say, Shaun blurted out, “Are you sure?”

“Oh I’m sure alright,” Jonathan spat out bitterly. “I could kill Dad for dumping me there! Did he take my needs into consideration? That I needed to stay with Mum no matter what? Oh no! It was all about bloody Rose and his guilt about moving on.” He swivelled his body to sit sideways in his seat and glared at Shaun. “Do you know he was too much of a coward to admit he had chosen Mum to live with? So he downplayed it, made it sound like he was being lumbered, all because Rose couldn’t wait to get in my pants! And I tried, Shaun, I really tried to be the boyfriend she wanted, but I wasn’t ready for all that… stuff! I need Mum in my life, so as soon as I could, I got away.” Calming down, he ended with, “Rose found out I was leaving without her and she hurt me. I really thought I was going to die. But thankfully I found Mum and she made me better again.” 

Shaun sat stunned, listening to all this. There was so much to take in all at once. “If this Rose has turned you off girls for good, I have friends who would help you find someone else more suitable, or at least talk it through; the whole lifestyle choice thing,” he diplomatically offered.

A smile immediately lit up Jonathan’s face. So Shaun thought he was gay, eh? At least it would mean he wouldn’t have other girls shoved in his direction in the future. “I’ll keep that in mind.”

Having reached this truce, they headed up to the flat to eat.

~~~

It took Adam next to no time to reach the block of flats that Donna Noble lived in. He had already made the journey before, so the route was seared into his mind. Stopping off at a conveniently open small store on the way, he arrived on her doorstep armed with croissants and fresh Danish pastries. His demeanour may be harsh at times, but he was never materialistically mean.

As soon as she opened her front door he wasn’t overwhelmed by her shocked expression, or her state of comparative undress. No, it was the change in her scent that shocked him. He’d been dismissing it as a trick of the early morning activities as several local residents took to mowing their lawns, but he couldn’t deny this any longer.

“Good morning, Donna!” he cheerily greeted her. “I’ve brought sustenance. I hope that is okay.” He then lifted up the fancy carrier bag he had obtained. “Just a few pastries as a Sunday morning treat.”

“Morning, Adam.” She gazed at the bag in wonder. “Where on earth did you get those? Tesco’s ain’t open for another hour.”

“Ah, it’s who you know in this business,” he enigmatically replied as he followed her invite and crossed the threshold. “Jerry not here yet?”

“No. He said he had to swing by his mum’s first to pick something up. Come in and I’ll make us some fresh coffee,” she answered, leading them into the kitchen, tightening the belt around her dressing gown as she did so. 

It took all her willpower to calm her beating hearts down. There was just something about this Adam that affected her each time she saw him, and it was worse now that she had physically changed thanks to Jonathan’s intervention. She could feel his curious eyes boring into her, and part of her was panicking that he might have noticed the difference. Well, it was, until logic took over and wondered how he would manage to do such a thing! All he did was stand leaning against her worktop, watching her bustle about with boiled water, ground coffee beans and heated plates for the croissants. It certainly smelt delicious. 

“Was there any special reason why you’ve turned up this morning?” she casually asked. “You look as though you’re dressed to go and do a spot of Jehovah Witnessing.”

“Do I?” he queried, looking down at himself. Nothing seemed out of place to him as he adjusted the sleeve of his jacket. 

“Yes,” she confirmed. “I know you’re supposed to wear your Sunday best when visiting special people; but we’re not _that_ special!”

He couldn’t help chuckling at that modest remark. “Believe me, Donna Noble, you are very special.”

Her head instantly turned to regard him. “You sounded just like…” She then shook her head as if to rid herself of the thought. “Take no notice of me. I haven’t had my morning coffee yet.”

“White, two sugars please,” he stated before she could even get the question out. But he wasn’t looking at her anymore; he was drawn to peer out the kitchen door and towards the bedroom. “Have you got someone staying here?”

Following his gaze, she mumbled, “You could say that.”

The bedroom door was pulled open, and a bleary-eyed figure stood there raking his hand through his hair whilst scratching his butt with the other. He was clad in only his boxer shorts and an oversized t shirt and he screwed his eyes up against the light he had stepped into. “Mum, you’ll never believe this but…” His words halted on his tongue as he caught sight of the man stood in the kitchen. He then took a very long and deliberate sniff before his eyes went wide in surprise.

Wanting to cover his ‘possibly seen as weird’ actions, Donna stepped forward and between the two males. “Jonathan, I want you to come and meet Adam McLellan from the production company. Adam, this is my son, Jonathan. I’m guessing Jerry told you about his appearance yesterday. Look Jonathan, he’s brought us some breakfast goodies. Isn’t that nice of him?”

“Yeah, brilliant,” Jonathan faintly replied as he eyed their visitor. It couldn’t be, could it? Surely not, he told himself. But all his senses were saying otherwise.

Then Adam wiped away all doubt by offering his hand in greeting. As soon as the handshake begun, Jonathan was flooded with information that he hastily hid from his mother. 

“It’s good to meet you,” Adam warmly greeted him, overjoyed to feel more than a spark of a connection with the teen. This was like a tsunami in comparison to the other day with Donna. It almost left him breathless. 

“And you,” Jonathan eagerly responded.

All of this was very odd. Donna could feel her head spinning with it, and she had just opened her mouth to ask what was going on when the phone rang. “Excuse me,” she said as she went to snatch up the phone and answer it. “Won’t be a minute,” she added as she disappeared into the living room to take the call. It was from her mother.

“Hello, Mum,” she brightly said into the receiver. “Is anything the matter?”

“I don’t know. You tell me,” Sylvia tartly replied. “The way you walked out yesterday I thought you’d gone off your rocker.”

Sighing with resignation, Donna gently closed the living room door and listened as patiently as she could to one of her mother’s rants.

~~~

Having waited for Donna to walk away and shut the living room door behind her, Jonathan launched into his speech. “It’s you! It’s really you. But I don’t understand. I thought you’d died. I thought everybody had died!” he wailed. “What’s going on? Does this mean there are others?”

But Adam merely stared at him. “Who are you?” he demanded to know in menacing tones. “You are not of this world.”

“Nor are you, mate!” Jonathan retorted, and then his face fell. “Do you really not recognise me, _Uncle_ Adam?” 

“I am no uncle of yours,” Adam seethed. “You do not smell correctly to be that. I’ll admit that you do smell like a Time Lord.”

“Then I’ll change it to your real name, shall I?” Jonathan mocked. “Or is ‘Brax’ too intimate for me to use too? Whatever you decide, you can’t change the facts. Hello, I’m your nephew: Jonathan.” 

Adam stumbled backwards and leaned against the worktop. “You cannot be,” he murmured as he took in a long sniff. The evidence his senses gave him stated otherwise. To test the boy, his eyes narrowed as he asked, “What is your father’s name?”

“You called him Thete,” Jonathan readily supplied, feeling very pleased with himself. “But Mum doesn’t know that.”

“Oh, your mother,” Adam reminded himself. “When did your parents… _converge_? And why don’t you share a familial bond?”

Going suddenly shy, Jonathan averted his gaze. “Because Dad didn’t form it with me. In fact he disowned me; sent me to an alternate universe instead. There was a metacrisis, you see,” he apologetically explained. “Mum became part Time Lord.”

“But that cannot be,” Adam gasped, understanding instantly. 

“Yeah, tell us about it,” Jonathan whined. 

Donna reappeared at that moment, looking defeated. “That was Mum. She was going on about the flowers for the church. Gawd knows why. I see you did the coffee, Jonathan,” she ended sarcastically.

“Sorry, Mum. We got talking and I forgot. I’ll do it now,” he offered and began to take charge.


	8. Chapter 8

As Jonathan added sugar to the coffee mugs, Adam asked him, “So what do you think of your stepfather?”

“Who?” Jonathan wondered absently as he handed over a stirred mug.

“He means Shaun, love,” Donna supplied as she gained her mug of coffee. “The man I’m marrying,” she added to remind him. “He’ll be your stepdad.”

“Oh!” Realisation spread over Jonathan’s face. “I thought you meant something else,” he blustered, and took a hasty sip of his own, heavily sugared, coffee whilst he considered the question. “He’s alright, I suppose. Bought me Chinese food last night, let me ride in his company van and everything. You’d like it. It’s a brand new Vauxhall Vivaro 1800 BiTurbo.”

“Jonathan, Adam wants to know about your opinion of Shaun, not hear how taken you are with his van,” Donna chided him. 

“No, let the boy talk, Donna,” Adam softly interjected. All of what Jonathan had said so far was very materialistic. “Will you be escorting your mother down the aisle?” he aimed towards the teenager.

There was an instant splutter of coffee as Jonathan almost dropped his mug. “Who me?! I dunno.” His eyes anxiously snapped to Donna. “Were you thinking of making me? I thought the comment about the kilt was a joke.”

“It was, but it works lovely as a threat,” she teased. “Don’t worry; I’ve already asked Gramps to do it.”

Adam nodded as he took this in. “How did Wilf and your mother take Jonathan returning home to you?”

This gained an unexpected and somewhat guilty reaction from both mother and son.

“Ahh!” Donna gasped out. “They erm….” She nervously licked her lips. “Can you keep this to yourself for the time being? You see, they don’t know yet.”

Jonathan gave Adam a shy smile. “It’s going to be a surprise,” he commented ambiguously. 

“No doubt the reunion would make some wonderful footage for our programme,” Adam considered as he regarded them. 

“NO!” both Donna and Jonathan exclaimed simultaneously. 

“It’s… it’s private, between us,” Donna quickly added. “They haven’t seen Jonathan in _years_. In fact it’s highly unlikely that they’ll recognise him at all.” 

“Surely he can’t have changed all that much,” Adam reasoned; quite logically as far as he was concerned.

“Oh I’m definitely not what they’ll be expecting,” Jonathan remarked, and then blushed a dark crimson under his uncle’s scrutiny. “Nan doesn’t like Dad much, and since I take after him, I’m doomed…” His voice trailed off forlornly.

Donna was instantly at his side, wrapping a comforting arm around his shoulders and squeezing him in consolation. “She’ll come round; she always does eventually. I mean, having a grandson is a dream come true for her.” She then fondly swiped the hair out of his eyes. “And when she sees what a handsome young man you’ve become, you’ll make her as proud as you’ve made me.”

It took all of Adam’s resolve not to be affected by this little show. This was all very well and good, but it wasn’t solving any of his problems. For that, he needed to know exactly where his brother and this boy fitted into the grand scheme of things. 

“Donna,” he began gently, “I need to ask you a pressing and possibly personal question.”

Still cuddling her son, Donna tried to give him her full attention. “Ask away, but I’m not answering any sex stuff in front of Jonathan here,” she playfully warned.

What? Adam shook his head. “Things might have changed with the appearance of your son, so I need to know if there is any likelihood of his father turning up on the scene. I assure you that I have no interest in your sex life, real or perceived.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” she blazed. “Just because a mature woman isn’t jumping into bed with every Tom, Dick or Harry, doesn’t mean I-”

“Mum,” Jonathan interrupted her, tapping lightly on her arm. “He only wants to know if Dad will turn up and cause any disruption to your wedding.”

“Your dad?” she echoed. “No, I can’t see him bothering to show himself. He’ll still be running away from his thoughts, no doubt.”

“Thoughts about you?” Adam queried.

“Don’t talk wet!” Donna scoffed. “Everything we shared was accidental. I’m not saying we weren’t good friends, because we were. But as for us being close to married, no; ain’t going to happen. He had other fish to fry.” When Jonathan whimpered in memory, she darted a kiss to his cheek and murmured, “Sorry, love.”

The front door bell loudly chimed then, announcing the arrival of Jerry; so Adam and he stayed in the kitchen discussing possible future footage whilst Donna and Jonathan hastily rushed to get dressed.

~~~

Waiting in the hallway for Jonathan to emerge without Donna in tow, Adam beckoned him to the front door. “Can I have a quick word while Jerry sets up his equipment?”

“Sure,” Jonathan agreed, and cautiously followed him outside to stand on the landing of the block of flats. “Well?” he asked in hushed tones, having put the door on the latch and pulled it to. “What’s the problem?”

“I gather you aren’t so keen for your mother to marry this Shaun Temple fellow,” Adam whispered.

Jonathan shrugged in typical teenage fashion. “Yeah, so what? He’s not evil or anything, but Mum doesn’t belong with him.”

“Then may I ask who you think she should be with?”

“Well d’uh, Uncle Adam!” Jonathan mocked. “She should be with Dad. Isn’t that obvious?”

Adam quieted him with his beady gaze. “This can’t be some adolescent whim of yours. I need to know; why should she be with Thete?” 

Exasperated, Jonathan hissed, “Because she is the bloody DoctorDonna! That’s why. She’s the most important woman in the whole universe!”

“That is her?!” Adam incredulously questioned. “Are you aware of how revered she is? Why, they mention her across the seven galaxies and beyond. My archive is full of references and artworks sculptured in her honour.”

“That’s my mum,” Jonathan stated proudly, bouncing happily on his heels. “Now do you see why marrying Shaun isn’t enough?” 

“I do,” Adam muttered thoughtfully, gazing out into the middle distance. “This makes a great deal of difference.”

“Uncle Adam, or should I say Uncle Brax, how did you get to be here from your archive?” Jonathan openly wondered. “You never said.”

He waved a hand in a vague gesture. “Didn’t I? And don’t call me Brax! During what became known as the Great Time War, the High Council were frightened that the archive would be destroyed like Earth had lost the great Library of Alexandria; so I was sent here to hide with it. My orders were to return when peace was achieved.”

“You hid?!”

“They gave me a specially commissioned TARDIS, one that could only travel between here and Gallifrey,” Adam explained. “As part of my disguise I wore a biodamper so that any stray species would not be able to detect me.”

“Dad wasn’t aware you were here either.”

He ignored the underlying accusation. It was one he had heard in many versions during his lifetimes. “Be that as it may, it couldn’t be avoided. The safety of the archive was paramount. I had to sacrifice all links to my family. So of course I had assumed they had all perished when the Great Time War ended.”

The door was suddenly thrust open and Donna stood there, glaring daggers at Adam for all she was worth as she took in the guilty expression on Jonathan’s face and Adam’s stony demeanour. 

“What’s going on? What are you doing out here with my son? If you think you can practice your sick grooming skills on him you’ll have to go through me first, Sunshine,” she threatened.

The shifty glance Jonathan gave Adam didn’t do him any favours either. “Nothing untoward is going on, Donna, I assure you. I was merely making sure young Jonathan here is aware of his legal rights as we continue filming you today.” 

There was something off about this. “Is this true?” she aimed towards the teenager.

“Yes, Mum,” he hastily agreed. “Un... Adam was just explaining.”

A slowly teasing smile appeared on her lips. “Were you just about to call him ‘uncle’ then?” she idly wondered.

“No!” Jonathan immediately blustered. He’d forgotten for a split second that she would know, and resolved to shield his emotions a bit more in the future. It would take some getting used to, this suddenly having family. 

Then to his horror, Adam placed a patronising hand on his shoulder.

“You can call me Uncle Adam if it helps matters,” he calmly spoke in soft tones. “It might set tongues wagging though.”

“Between the neighbours you mean?” Donna sought to clarify. “Sod them. And it would have been fishy if he looked remotely like you, but he doesn’t.”

“Oh I dunno,” Jerry behind her put in suddenly. “I think there’s a vague resemblance you could argue with.” 

“Yes, thank you, Jerry!” She then indicated with her head towards him in mock exasperation. “You just can’t seem to get decent staff these days.”

This caused a few amused grins. 

“If we could go back inside, I’ll finish my coffee and Danish pastry, then I’ll leave you all to get on with your day,” Adam pleasantly proposed.

“Oh yeah, we have to go over to Mum’s. Thanks for reminding me,” Donna sighed in resignation.

Jonathan anxiously ate all he could whilst he had the chance. For all he knew, he’d be kicked out of Sylvia’s later on, so he might miss out on a decent lunch. It might even extend to missing out on being totally accepted for ever. Who could tell? Unwilling to shield this emotion, he welcomed the comforting touches Donna gave him as they headed out.

~~~

‘You can do this! Definitely do this!’ Donna chanted to herself as they approached her mother’s front door. Right up until Wilf opened it did she feel trepidation. Jonathan stood by her side, grasping her hand tightly, giving and receiving moral support.

“Hello my girl!” Wilf greeted them, beaming a smile. “And who’s this young man? He looks familiar. Very familiar.”

“He should do, Gramps,” Donna replied as cheerily as she could, dragging Jonathan forward by his sleeve. “I’ll explain once we’re inside.” She then turned to Jerry standing behind them to add, “I don’t want this bit filmed. Do you hear me? You can carry on when, and only when, I have told Mum and Gramps about Jonathan coming home.”

Jerry readily nodded. Adam had already sworn him to secrecy about this and told him exactly the same. “I’ll wait in the front room while you do what you have to do,” he promised as he crossed the threshold and got into the warmth of the house from the biting cold outside.

Feeling satisfied, Donna squarely faced herself to deal with the next difficult task: her mother. 

“Hello. Who’s this you’ve brought to see us? Another cameraman? Probably one of those work experience lads. I hope they are paying you a decent wage,” Sylvia spoke, aiming the last bit towards Jonathan. 

He politely shook his head. “I’m not with them. I’m with…” He then indicated with his head towards Donna, not knowing what he was allowed to call her yet in their company.

“Mum, will you come and sit down, please,” Donna requested as both she and Jonathan sat themselves down at the kitchen table. “You too, Gramps.”

“Aye aye, this sounds serious. Are you going to tell us you’ve gone out and found yourself a toy boy?” Wilf quipped, getting the embarrassed flush he had hoped for from the lad. 

“Something like that,” Donna couldn’t resist answering, stunning him into silence.

“Alright,” Sylvia agreed reluctantly as she sunk onto a kitchen chair by Donna’s side, “but it’ll mean the tea will have to wait.”

“Then it can wait,” Donna stated decisively. “I need to talk to you about the night with the planets in the sky.”

Wilf immediately coughed. “We’ve been through all that. You had your accident, woke up here later on, with chunks of your memory missing; end of.”

“That isn’t the case, Gramps,” she disagreed as she felt Jonathan squeeze her hand under the table and send her consoling thoughts. “The thing is… I have regained my memories.”

“You can’t have!” Sylvia gasped out in protest as Wilf looked equally pained.

“I can, and I did. Hopefully you had it explained to you that I went through a metacrisis, where I took the Doctor’s mind into my own.” Donna paused to let that information sink in as she saw them throw their hands over their mouths, wanting to hold in any damaging words, and eager to hear what she would say. “What I suspect he didn’t tell you about was our son.” 

“Son? What son?!” Sylvia blurted out.


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **A/N:** I do apologise for the extremely long delay in updating, but I've had a few problems with my health.

Uh oh! Here it came: the accusation. “We had a son. An adult-looking son who sprung into being, ready formed, thanks to the metacrisis, chock-a-block with both my and the Doctor’s memories, but who looked exactly like the Doctor,” Donna forged on. “Anyway, before me he had a companion called Rose. A blonde girl-”

“She was here,” Wilf interrupted. “Brought her gun in and made us sit by whilst she used our computer to search for the Doctor. We saw you on something they called a sub wavey thing or other. She got all cranky when she couldn’t talk to him. Went on and on about being here first.”

“She did?” Donna stole a glance towards Jonathan, who silently confirmed that Rose had told him of this. “I didn’t know that. Anyway, when we saved the universe the walls between the dimensions started to close, so we took Rose and her mum back to their universe and erm…”

“And what?” Sylvia asked coldly. “Is that when he did what he did to you? Was it because of her?”

“No, that happened afterwards.” Steeling herself, she then admitted, “He left…” A sob escaped from her throat, and Jonathan upped his comforting presence. “He left our son with her.”

“What!” Sylvia was up and out of her seat like a shot, in protest. “Why the hell did he do that?!”

“Sylve, let the girl speak,” Wilf tried to calm her down, waving his hands at his daughter. “He might not have meant to.” 

“Oh he did alright,” Jonathan muttered to her side. 

Ignoring his remark, Donna continued, “He did it because he couldn’t love her in the way she wanted. He couldn’t be the man she had sought, so he gave her the next best thing; our son.”

“Well that ain’t right! We never even got to see him. Our own flesh and blood,” Sylvia complained. “Just you wait until I see him! I should have done more than sling him out on his earhole.”

“Mum, please, sit down,” Donna begged. 

It was with a great deal of reluctance that Sylvia did so. “Still ain’t right, and I shall let him know _exactly_ what I think!”

“But never mind all that for now, how can you remember all this and not die?” Wilf asked, deeply concerned. “He said it’d be fatal.”

“I’m coming to that. Now I know he must have mentioned regeneration…” They both nodded to show Donna they were listening. “… Well, our son, Jonathan, tried to be everything Rose wanted him to be but unfortunately a vital part was missing.”

It was Wilf who asked, “What was missing?”

“Me,” Donna supplied. “He needed me to develop properly. His mind couldn’t cope with it all, so he fought to get back here. Then he was shot as he tried to escape, and I found him bleeding to death, yesterday afternoon.”

“Oh my Lord!” Sylvia gasped out sympathetically. “Why didn’t you say?”

“That’s why I’m here; doing that. When I found him, it triggered my metacrisis. It broke through the memory block, and I regenerated; we both regenerated. It healed both of us, and made us whole again.” 

“Then where is he?” Sylvia demanded. “When we get to see him?”

“And is this Jonathan anything like the Doctor now?” Wilf added, knowing that the Doctor had said he’d change with death.

Donna sucked in a breath. Here it came; the big announcement. “He became much closer to his mental age in looks. So I want to present to you my son and your grandson: Jonathan.”

Finally able to say something, Jonathan gave them a coy little wave. “Hello!”

“This is him? Your son Jonathan?” Wilf wondered as he leaned over to peer directly into the boy’s face. “Blimey! He looks just like his lordship.”

Sylvia sat staring at the lad she had been expecting to be introduced to her as some sort of technical trainee and not her grandson. He wasn’t a bad looking young man but the shock of the sudden discovery was yet to do him any favours, despite Donna using the grandchild tactic to lure her into being pleased. “A grandson, you say. A son you’ve had with THAT man, that Doctor fella, who couldn’t even keep a civil tongue in his head when he brought you home half dead that night. And now I’m being presented with his backdoor offspring.”

Donna squeezed Jonathan’s hand for an entirely different reason this time. They’d anticipated this sniping but it didn’t make it any more pleasant for them to face.

“You don’t have to hold that against him. Jonathan is my son,” Donna gently pressed, repeating the relationship. “I know it’s a massive shock to see him sitting here, at your table, but he’s my baby. Can’t you see that?”

“I can see you’ve landed yourself in a load of trouble again,” Sylvia griped, her emotions whirling around in her head. All the hurt, the rage, the worry; and now this! All done as though she ought to be whooping with glee. Well she wasn’t, not in the slightest. If the Doctor had mentioned a son back then it would have helped to prepare her for this, but he hadn’t. Not a word. Like it was extremely shameful to have given her a grandchild in any capacity. “Does he know he’s home with you?” she sneered. “Will he have another a go at killing you when he eventually turns up on your doorstep? That’s if he ever does. Not that I can see him bothering. To be honest, I was expecting him to knock you up when you were travelling about with him. Didn’t I say so, Dad? But I wasn’t expecting this,” she bitterly added. 

Wilf had given a faint nod to acknowledge that she had said all of that behind Donna’s back while she was away; but Sylvia’s tirade was shaming. “Don’t start,” he warned. “The boy is innocent; and it don’t matter who his dad is. He’s still your grandson. Try remembering that. I think he’s splendid!” 

He then reached across and placed a fond hand on the lad’s arm. Jonathan smiled gratefully at the gesture, unwilling to risk any other action yet. His fate was still to be decided. 

“I’ll make us that tea,” Donna offered as she got up. She knew giving her mother some time to mull it over would eventually work. At least the angry accusations hadn’t been hurled at Jonathan. As for her own hurt feelings, well, they could wait until another time. “Are there any biscuits?”

“In the cupboard,” Sylvia answered absently. She was still sitting there, sucking in her breath as she fought a very watery eyed reaction as she regarded Jonathan who had been sitting there so politely and quietly at her table. 

Unable to remain under her scrutiny, he slowly stood and went over to Donna’s side, instinctively seeking her out. “I’ll help, Mum. Shall I get the milk?”

“Yes please,” she enthusiastically accepted. “And we’d better see if Jerry wants a cup.”

“I’ll go ask him,” he eagerly offered, having brought out a large bottle of milk from the fridge. Plonking the bottle down on the worktop, he raced out of the room, only to reappear less than a minute later, bounding in like an eager puppy. “He said he’d love one, thanks, so he’s coming in.”

As he moved through the room his gingerish hair was more obvious in the light streaming in through the patio doors, and his kind blue-brown eyes crinkled up in merriment; just the way Geoffrey’s had, Sylvia mentally noted. “My grandson. My very own grandson,” she faintly said in awe.

“So you don’t mind then,” Donna tried to clarify as she placed a mug of tea in front of her mother, and then passed one to Wilf. “That I brought Jonathan over to see you?”

Jonathan stood still, tightly grasping the plate of biscuits he’d picked up, and reluctant to get any nearer to the table yet as he awaited his fate. 

“Mind?! I… Of course I mind,” Sylvia stuttered out, and then to his obvious relief she beckoned him towards her. “But I’ll get over it. Come here and let me see you properly.”

Taking a careful step nearer, Jonathan presented himself as though he was awaiting punishment from a headmaster. H-hello, Nan,” he tried out saying. It might be the only time he would, after all. 

His hearts almost stopped in his chest when Sylvia raised herself up, reached out, and touched his hair. With anxious glances towards Donna, he watched his grandmother run her fingers through his fringe before trailing a fingertip across his cheek. She even placed a brief touch on his fledgling stubble that smattered across his chin. Worst of all was the way she stared into his eyes as though she was weighing him up.

“Who do you think he takes after?” Donna asked, knowing full well what the answer would be; but she had to break the tension somehow. And she was desperate for her mother to accept him. 

“I’d have said he was all his father,” Sylvia admitted, “but you can see bits of you in him. And he definitely talks like you.”

“So we’re keeping him then?” Wilf jovially wondered. As far as he was concerned there was no question about it, but he knew what Sylvia thought about the Doctor and how that’d prejudice her decision.

“Oh Dad!” she chided, tacking on a warm smile. “Of course we are.”

That was all the encouragement he needed, and Jonathan flew into her arms to be hug within an inch of his life. She was crying; he was near crying; everybody was sniffing back tears of joy by the time they finished. 

“It’s good to have you finally home with us, lad,” Wilf greeted him warmly, and added in his own heartfelt hug.

~~~

A very pleased Jerry had joined them just at the right moment to get the full reunion he had anticipated; full of emotion and family love. As he shot the footage, he could easily imagine the voiceover explaining the long absence of Jonathan from their lives. It would break some hearts among the viewers, he knew that much. Especially the ones that had already warmed to Donna’s story. Who could resist her tale of abandonment, injury and great personal loss after this?

It was a joy to watch her son shyly reacquaint himself with his family and be welcomed back into the fold. No doubt there’d be an ardent little following for him after this too, from their younger viewers. Teenage heartthrobs were a godsend for the ratings. It also helped that the great-grandfather, Wilf, was asking all the right questions as they sat in the kitchenette together.

“Now that you’ve finished school, what are you going to do with yourself?”

“Get some new clothes to wear,” Jonathan had answered honestly, and tugged self-consciously at the collar of the jumper he was wearing. “I’ve had to borrow this and the jeans from Mum while what I was wearing yesterday is being cleaned. I won’t mention what else I’m wearing that I’ve had to borrow.”

“No, I mean in terms of a job,” Wilf patiently restated, chuckling at his honesty. “What do you fancy doing?”

“Oh! I don’t know. I hadn’t thought that far ahead.” Jonathan then gulped nervously. “I had a job in a lab where I was before.”

Wilf looked amazed. But then again, this _was_ the Doctor’s son. “Really? Doing what sort of thing?”

“Just helping out,” he replied vaguely. “Typing up reports, that sort of thing.”

“I bet you did more than that if you take after your dad,” Wilf blurted out.

Blushing shyly, Jonathan answered, “I got plenty worth knowing from Mum as well.”

“Of course he did,” Sylvia added, giving him a tender touch as she walked pass with some fresh tea. “He gets all his good points from our side of the family.”

Jonathan had to laugh to himself at her remark. If only his dad knew he was sitting there having love poured upon him by Sylvia Noble. He’d have had a heart attack.

~~~

The man in question, or rather, alien, was at that point closely squashed up against the monitor, trying to make sense of a reading he had just received. A spike of energy had caught his attention. And if it had caught his eye, no doubt there were other beings out there who would be equally as interested to find out its source.

Tapping at the keyboard brought up more information now that he had a vague idea where to look. The news made him stagger back and hit his leg against the pilot seat in shock.

“What?! No, it cannot be,” he mumbled to himself. “That’s regeneration energy.”

Not only that, but it apparently was coming from somewhere on Earth. With a flick of a switch, he was on his way.

~~~


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **A/N:** I’ve totally nabbed [anyagotr](anyagotr.livejournal.com)’s offered idea for this.

Adam went through the footage Jerry had provided him with for the week. Three weeks in to filming his production company’s latest television project, and it was all going quite nicely so far, but he had tried to hide his biasedness towards the Temple-Noble wedding. After that first hiccup, the weekend Jonathan had arrived, things had gone reasonably smoothly. In fact, he had instantly arranged with Jerry that he would view all future footage of Donna and her family before anybody else did. 

He had fobbed Jerry off with some legalise, saying he was making sure nothing untoward was used about Jonathan, since he was a minor and hadn’t been consulted before the project had begun; but that wasn’t the whole truth. It had worried him deeply that Jerry had caught some faint dialogue about alien parentage muttered by Sylvia; so Adam had hastily edited it out, and with a brief sleight of hand, had removed the memory from Jerry’s head. Nothing too serious, just a touch of his fingers as he helped open the stiff front door of his apartment in order to let Jerry out, and the offending incident was gone, dealt with forever; leaving Jerry none the wiser but with a tiny mental block that made him ignore all mention of alien attachment. 

To make sure things went along on an even keel; Adam had even paid his brand new nephew a little visit while Donna was out at work. The visit was so that he could check that the lad was settling in okay on Earth, amongst other more important things.

Adam accepted Jonathan’s ready invitation to not only cross over the threshold but to also take tea. He nodded to himself in satisfaction as the lad escorted him into the living room; his manners were coming along very nicely. It satisfied him immensely that he had a gift to reward Jonathan with, so when the boy arrived back from the kitchen with a loaded tea tray, he began his announcement.

“Before we sit and enjoy this little repast you have prepared, I have some pressing news,” Adam began. “The weekly broadcast of our show will commence this week; tomorrow in fact. And a decision has been made to include a great deal of footage of you.”

“Me?! Why me, Uncle Adam?” Jonathan modestly wondered as he politely handed out tea and offered slices of cake.

Adam tried not to stiffen. The title the boy banded about with apparent ease still caught him off guard on the odd occasion. “Ratings, my dear boy. They think you will appeal to a younger fan base then the stay at home mums and pensioners we are expecting as our core viewing audience. It means, however, that you might draw upon yourself undue attention whenever you venture out. In order to help financially, I have arranged for our technical department to give you a little job to occupy you for the time being. I have a letter for you with all the details, and for your safety I have brought you this...”

From deep in his pocket he drew out a small metallic case; within it was a mobile phone to contact him on, should the need arise. It was one of those fancy, expensive models that apparently most teens lusted after, according to the publicity department. Of course it was a mere plaything compared to the technology he was more used to.

“A job and a phone!” Jonathan cried with joy, knowing how coveted the particular phone being offered was amongst his new peer group. “I don’t know how to thank you,” he admitted as he gleefully accepted his precious gift.

“I do not require thanks, merely an acknowledgement that you will contact me in any moment of trouble,” Adam had smoothly stated. 

The nod of agreement was the reaction he wanted. To his chagrin, the boy had immediately tried to hug him. So unbecoming for a Time Lord! Adam felt it was his duty to point out the error of his ways, leaving the lad rather chastised. 

“Jonathan Noble, do not attempt to hug me again,” he had told him in no uncertain terms. That was right before he sat himself down in Donna’s living room to take tea with the teenager. “As a Time Lord you have a duty and a family heritage to uphold.” 

“Sorry, Uncle Adam,” Jonathan had instantly apologised as he too sat down, bowing his head whilst grasping his own cup. “I didn’t think.”

“Obviously not,” Adam agreed. He took a sip as he considered his next words. “Living with humans must not be allowed to affect you so. As a Time Lord you must compose yourself in a certain manner. Now on to other matters. It has been brought to my attention that your grandmother has been making defamatory remarks in front of my cameraman, Jerry.”

“You mean all the sly snipes at Dad? Yes, she does that, unfortunately,” Jonathan nervously confirmed. Somehow his uncle’s formality managed to do that to him, despite the generosity he had shown with the gift. “She’s not liked him since he ruined Mum’s first wedding. Well, he didn’t exactly ruin it; he rescued Mum from being eaten alive by the Racnoss.”

“Did this incident occur three Christmases ago?” Adam queried, and waited for the nod. “That would explain it,” he commented to himself. “I may be hidden from the world in general but I did detect a sudden evacuation of Huon particles.”

“That was it. I didn’t know you had detection equipment. Will I be allowed to view your setup, Uncle Adam?” Jonathan asked eagerly. “I bet you’ve got all sorts of interesting technology.”

“Yes,” Adam succinctly noted, and put his cup down decisively. “It is best that I don’t humour such inquisitiveness until after the wedding. We do not want to draw any unwanted attention.”

A pair of very pained, soulful blue-brown eyes regarded him with dismay.

“So you’re going to let the wedding go ahead?! But I thought you would stop it,” Jonathan petulantly confessed. “All you care about is shutting me up and your bloody television programme!”

Holding his hand up to halt the understandably angry tirade, Adam responded, “Jonathan Noble, I cannot in all good faith stop your mother’s wedding unless I am given good reason to. In other words, unless my brother comes back and claims his wife, my hands are tied.”

“But that’s stupid!” Jonathan protested. “You know that they are bonded. How can you sit there and tell me you are powerless?”

Taking in a calming breath, Adam leaned forward in his seat to explain the situation. “Your father almost completely broke that bond when he buried away your mother’s memories of him. It will lie in tatters until he reforms it; _IF_ he reforms it, which he might not choose to do. You have to face that fact.”

Tears welled up in Jonathan’s eyes as he sat shaking his head in denial. “He wouldn’t do that. Mum means too much to him to just abandon her as if she’s nothing at all. He’ll come back for her! I know he will. I was there when he said he had chosen her to be with. She belongs with him!”

“Be that as it may, it doesn’t necessarily mean that he belongs with Donna,” Adam softly but reluctantly stated, deeply affected despite himself by the boy’s distress. “I cannot force him to return. We’ve done all what we can by sending out an appeal to his TARDIS; the rest is up to him.”

“What do I do if he doesn’t come and stop the wedding, Uncle Adam? What do I do then?” Jonathan pleaded with him. “It would be so wrong!”

Adam stood and walked over to place a comforting hand on Jonathan’s shoulder. “Then you welcome your new stepfather into the family and we do the best we can. There are several protocols I would have to carry out as your nearest family member, but they would only come into play once your stepfather is deceased.”

“You’re not going to kill Shaun, are you?!” Jonathan asked in very shocked tones. “I know I don’t want Mum to marry him, but he’s a really decent bloke.”

“I see your father’s memories are receding from your mind,” Adam noted. “No, I am merely pointing out our longevity compared to these humans we live amongst. It is our reward and our punishment.”

Jonathan tried to bravely smile as his compassionate side came out. “You must have been very lonely, Uncle Adam.”

He nodded. “I was but that is over. I have you and your mother now for company.” 

Feeling a small sense of pride at his uncle’s words, Jonathan wondered, “What does protocol say you will have to do when Shaun eventually dies? Not that I’m trying to kill him off or anything…”

“Then, my dear boy,” Adam supplied, giving Jonathan’s cheek a brief fond touch, “I must make sure you become a permanent member of our House by marrying your mother.”

As solutions go, it was one of the better options if his father didn’t show up. Until then, Jonathan would have to make do. “I would be honoured to become your stepson as well as your nephew, Uncle Adam,” he assured him sincerely.

“Good. Then we have an understanding between us.” Adam then took away his hand from Jonathan’s shoulder. Such familiarity would not be permitted unless a stronger union occurred. 

With that agreed, he finished his slice of cake and then headed back to his office.

~~~

Far across the city landscape, a being was in a desperate race to get to the source of energy it had detected. It had lost contact with its brethren when they had chased the same source of energy, but the winds of time had blown it in an entirely different direction, and it was all alone on this alien world. The reason why was not important; this was purely a matter of survival now. Sentimentality could wait for when it found the rest of the family. For now, sustenance was the all-encompassing goal in its life.

Spying a possible vessel, the creature moved forward; and pounced.

Who cared about the little insignificant human it had commandeered? There were plenty to replace it on this infested planet. Lifting up its newly acquired head, the celestial being took a long, deep sniff. 

Ah yes! There it was, the source of the energy being sought; and not too far away. Soon all that delicious energy would be all his to do with as he wished. “Brother of mine has returned,” he triumphantly declared to the world.

~~~

Sylvia Noble was stood at her kitchen sink, peeling potatoes for their Saturday evening meal. “Isn’t Shaun coming over tonight, Donna?” she called out.

Donna looked up from where she was sat chatting with her grandfather and son in front of the television, with Jonathan half sprawled across her again, softly dozing in his favourite position, as she fiddled with his hair in tender sweeps. “He shouldn’t be long,” she yelled back. “There was something about a possible job with his mate Terry that he wanted to check out first before coming over.”

“There’s no need to shout,” Sylvia commented as she appeared at the door, and fondly peeped in at her new grandson. “When were you going to sort out some more clothes for our Jonathan to wear? He’ll need them for when he starts that job on Monday. Only, Sally said there is a sale on down at Burton’s that started today.”

“We were going to have a look tomorrow morning,” Donna admitted. “I won’t know until the afternoon where I’m supposed to go this week for work. Nicky reckons it might be Hannington’s again.”

“That’d be nice,” Sylvia agreed. “It would take you up nicely to the wedding.” 

Jonathan suddenly sat up straight and took in a deep sniff. His eyes went wide as he confessed in a low voice, “Something’s really off, Mum. I think I need to phone up Adam.”

“Don’t worry, love,” Donna said to comfort him, giving his trembling arm a loving pat. “I’ll go and check. Won’t be a minute.” She then indicated towards Jerry to stay exactly where he was. Well, she didn’t want him to see this if it was what she thought it was.

Seconds later, after stepping outside the door, Donna turned and gasped. Standing a few feet away from her was a sight that assaulted her olfactory senses far more than they would have done previously, but she recognised the taste at the back of her throat nevertheless.

“You have got to be kidding me!” she exclaimed.

~~~


	11. Chapter 11

The TARDIS juddered this way and that as it zoomed through time and space towards its destination. At long last she could guide her pilot to this particular place. The Doctor hung onto the console for grim death, both enjoying the battered ride and grimacing with the effort. Curiosity won out, so by the time the TARDIS landed, he was grinning from ear to ear. 

Pulling the monitor towards him in order to see where exactly he had landed, eager to see where the energy he had detected was sourced, his grin slid off his face. “It can’t be,” he murmured to himself as the outside proved to be more than familiar.

Outside, the TARDIS had landed him within feet of Donna’s family home; a place he had last visited on one of his worse days in his life, and thought he would never have to visit again. A thought he’d had a few times now, but the place just seemed to keep pulling him back despite his best efforts to avoid it. 

Stepping out of the TARDIS doors, he carefully closed them and contemplated his next move. He’d need an alibi ready to hand should he bump into Sylvia Noble, or even worse, if he ran into Donna. He really hoped that wouldn’t happen despite his hearts yearning to see her again, just for a second, as the long suppressed loss swelled up and threatened to consume him. It couldn’t be allowed to take control of him; he had other things to do. Like find where that energy spike came from and why it had led him to here. 

“Come on, Donna,” he whispered to himself. “Help me one more time,” he continued to plead as he walked forward.

~~~

Outside the Mott-Noble home a large van was sitting, observing the property. Inside it, brother of mine was enjoying his freedom from his temporal lock. He neither knew nor cared that the emergence of the planet of Gallifrey had been the means of his release. His attention was on his current weakness and hunger. The regeneration energy came from this very spot. Soon he would be able to feast.

One of his potential victims narrowed her eyes as she sought out clues. It should have been easy to dismiss the van as belonging to an overenthusiastic viewer of the reality TV programme they were now a part of, thereby becoming something the public felt entitled to gawp at whenever the opportunity arose. But this could not be dismissed as being the act of a fan.

For a start, the blacked-out windows regarded Donna, as she stood there, with cold interest. There was no rolling down of the driver’s window or a beaming idiot waving at her like a loon; not even a hesitant passenger who tried to approach her in order to win a coveted autograph. No, this felt more sinister than that. And that was before the ominous smell that wafted over from the van. Whoever or whatever occupied that van was not human. Not anymore.

This didn’t feel like an encounter with ET. There wasn’t any likelihood that this ‘person’ would want to phone home. Which was ironic in the circumstances, because Donna hadn’t been standing there longer than four minutes when the van suddenly started its engine, having obviously been satisfied they had found the right address, when an approaching visitor to that end of the road caused it to make the decision to bugger off. The biggest irony being the man who had turned up on the gravel driveway and shuddered to a halt was the very person who could have provided that phone call for ET.

He stared at Donna, took the sniff she’d been expecting him to take, and then cautiously asked, “Hello, you might not remember me, but is Wilf at home?"

“Hello Doctor,” she forced herself to evenly greet him. “Funnily enough, I do remember you, very well. But apparently you’d rather speak to Gramps then me.”

He gasped before replying, “That’s not true, Donna. I want the chance to talk to you, very much.”

“Good! Because I’ve got lots to tell you,” she replied, and beckoned him forward. “You’d better come in.”

~~~

As soon as Donna had stepped out of the living room Jonathan had immediately pulled up the menu on his phone and dialled Adam’s number. Hearing the click that meant someone had answered, Jonathan had burst into Gallifreyan. “Uncle Brax! Did you detect it? Something wrong is happening,” he breathily stated. “I don’t know what for sure yet, but it is outside. Mum has gone to investigate. Hurry! Please hurry!”

“’Ere, what are you saying?” Wilf anxiously asked from his armchair. “Why are you talking all foreign? I thought you said you were calling that Adam fella.”

“I am, Gramps,” Jonathan answered, flawlessly slipping back into English. “He wanted to practise his erm… Icelandic with me; since, you know, I speak Icelandic.” He winced slightly as he heard the lie almost trip off his tongue. 

“Wasn’t there some clever bloke on the telly with the super memory who learnt that? Oh, I see,” Wilf muttered more to himself than to Jonathan. 

“Our Jonathan is a genius,” Sylvia felt the need to put in as she walked across to the window, moved the net curtain aside, and inquisitively peered out into the street. “Who’s that our Donna is talking to? Dad, who do we know who wears a…?” She then staggered back two steps in shock. “It can’t be.”

Jonathan didn’t wait for Wilf’s response; he was up and out of that room so fast he’d have almost beaten the Road Runner. ‘Is it him?’ uppermost in his mind. His hearts barely got the chance to wind him as he raced towards the front door and threw it open. Then he stood gawking on the front step, unable to move forward. His senses had been right after all, but he still didn’t believe it.

“Mum?” he feebly cried out, not knowing what else to say yet.

In response, Donna turned her head and looked at him, sending him reassurances that she was dealing with this situation. 

Behind her, the Doctor asked, “Why did he call you ‘Mum’?”

What a prat! Donna poured her scorn upon him. “Why do you think? D’uh! I’m his mother.”

“You went and had a baby?” he accused her. “Why did you do that?”

“Lord, give me strength,” she muttered to herself in exasperation. Why did he have to be so dense at times? “If you don’t know how or why he exists, then you need to reconsider your life, mate!” She then spotted Jerry standing behind Jonathan, wielding his camera. “Oh great! That’s all I need.” Reaching out to grab hold of Jonathan’s hand, she pulled him closer to her and the Doctor, and began the introductions. “Let’s start from the beginning, shall we? Dr John Smith, I’d like to re-introduce you to your son, Jonathan.”

“My what?!” the Doctor spluttered. “When did I get him?”

“The same time as me, funnily enough,” Donna retorted. She then gave Jonathan a small nudge. “Go on, say something.”

Biting down on his panic, Jonathan soaked in all the encouragement she was sending him. “H-hello Dad,” he stammered. “It’s been a few years since you last saw me. I’ve changed quite a bit.” He blinked; an action that highlighted his bright blue-brown eyes.

The Doctor was fascinated and leaned in closer to get a better look. “My, you have changed,” he noted in low tones as he peered at the boy. 

“Don’t bring out the optometrist’s eye mirror,” Donna warned as he went to delve into a pocket. “Or your screwdriver.”

Instead, he brought out his stethoscope. “Is this allowed?” he pithily asked.

“You shouldn’t need it,” Jonathan spoke up, glaring at his father. “You already know what you’ll find.”

“Just let him, Jonathan. He won’t believe it until he does,” Donna calmed his temper. 

With a few deft movements across the lad’s chest, the Doctor listened and heard the evidence that confirmed all suspicions. This being in front of him, who smelt almost exactly as his duplicate had done, was now a full-blown Gallifreyan rather than a human crossbreed. “Donna,” he almost whimpered as realisation hit him. Fortunately his brain kicked in to start asking questions. “What happened to him? How did he get here? And why are we being filmed?”

“Is that who I think it is?” a waspish voice queried as a person pushed past Jerry. A person in the form of an irate Sylvia Noble. “So… you’ve finally turned up, have you?! After all this time, you just thought you’d appear on my doorstep to muscle your way in and ruin everything for Donna; yet again. Well, let me tell you,” Sylvia continued, wielding an aggressive finger in his direction as she approached the Doctor. “That son of yours did not deserve to be abandoned with that Tyler family. You should be ashamed of yourself! Why didn’t you bring him with you to us? Me and Dad would have looked after him. But oh no! The high and mighty Doctor thought he knew better by taking away MY grandson.” She wrapped a possessive arm around Jonathan’s shoulders as she ranted, much to the Doctor’s surprise. “You aren’t fit to even lick his boots. You’re nothing but a coward who…”

“Mum,” Donna tried to halt the tirade by interrupting the flow of hateful words. “Please don’t do this out here!”

“Why not? The neighbours already know how his father acted towards him, leaving him who knows where with people who aren’t his family, when he should have been here with us all this time!” Sylvia rambled on, her anger unabated. “I don’t know how he’s got the cheek to turn up like this. I really don’t. Are you alright, Jonathan?”

Jonathan was trembling under her touch as he tried to gain control. So many differing emotions assaulted his body. He had been dreaming of this reunion for ages, and now that his dad had finally turned up, it was turning from the golden moment he’d wanted, into dust. He anxiously licked his lips. “No, I’m not,” he near whispered. 

“Shall I take you in and do you a nice hot chocolate,” Sylvia tried to cajole him, speaking with great fondness. “That’ll make you feel better.”

“No,” Jonathan declined with a small shake of his head. “I want… I need….”

“”I know! How about we all go inside and you make us some tea, Sylvia?” The Doctor stepped forward and beamed at her expectantly. “I’m sure your grandson would appreciate that.”

~~~

“Bloody men and their tea,” Sylvia muttered to herself as she crashed about in the kitchen some minutes later.

The men in question were all in her living room excitedly talking together. Of course Wilf had welcomed the Doctor into their home, hugging him for all he was worth before exchanging pleasantries. 

Donna watched her mother anxiously from the kitchen doorway and then turned to regard Jerry who had his camera practically in her face. “Take that away and out my face before I shove it where the sun don’t shine!” she threatened him. “None of this is to be filmed. Do I make myself clear, Jerry?”

Jerry lowered his camera to ask, “Why? If you don’t mind me asking.”

She glared at him incredulously. “Do you really need to ask why?! My son’s father has just turned up out of the blue and we have to talk personal stuff. Far too personal for your nosey viewers.”

“But Donna, that’s the whole point of this reality show,” Jerry tried to argue. 

“Excuse me. Jerry, is it?” The Doctor appeared next to her and went into his whole schmoozing act; smiling with abandon at the cameraman. “I’ve missed out on quite a bit here, and I haven’t been consulted about my legal rights yet, so I suggest you go and do that while I speak with Donna here.”

“Oh, right. I’ll go and talk to Adam then,” Jerry spluttered, and headed towards the stairs. “Is it okay if I use your bedroom, Donna?” he queried as he pulled his phone out of his pocket.

“By all means,” she readily agreed. “But no filming until Adam clears it with me!”

“Rightio,” he confirmed, and rushed up to the bedrooms; leaving Donna standing alone with the Doctor.

His close proximity was playing havoc with her new senses. What the hell was going on?! She stood, waiting for him to make the first move; _if_ he’d make the first move. Fortunately he did.


	12. Chapter 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **A/N:** from here on in, I've included an idea provided by [Bomb-O-Maniac](https://www.fanfiction.net/u/508674/).

“Donna,” the Doctor whispered, easing forward towards her; far too close to be slapped, but certainly near enough to kiss her, should he so desire and, you know, if she actually let him. “I have something I have to tell you.” He silently willed her to give him a chance.

“You do?” she wondered. Every nerve cell in her body was screaming at her to grab him; and in not a platonic way. This was very different, to say the least. “Tell me then.”

“I… I…,” he stammered as she waited for the declaration, whatever it may be. As it was, he chickened out on the heartfelt one he wanted to confess and went for a factual one that would hopefully result in a compassionate response. “I have to tell you; I’m dying.”

That was not what she had expected to hear, yet seemed perfect logical now that he had said it. “Dying? What happened and how long do you think you’ve got?”

His eyes widened into pools of hurt that regarded her. “I’m dying from radiation poisoning. It happened at Christmas when I saved Wilf’s life, and it’s only a matter of time now. I’m holding it off as best I can. These creatures, called Aubertides, are following me again. Well, probably just the one. They must have caught a stray wisp of regeneration energy from me in order to lead them here. Last time I imprisoned them all, but obviously one got away. Did… did Jonathan regenerate near here?”

“Right outside the front door here,” Donna supplied. “So they are what brought you back here?”

“Well, that and the energy spike I detected,” he admitted. 

Thanks a bunch! Hurt did not begin to cover her spirits in that instant. She couldn’t resist asking, “What would you have done if you hadn’t been followed?”

He gave a small shrug to hide his guilty feelings. “Oh, I don’t know... I would have probably peeked in at your wedding, then said goodbye to Martha, Mickey, Jack, Sarah Jane and Rose.” His voice slightly broke on the last name, just as it always did.

A large mental door clanged shut inside Donna’s head as he finished saying his list. That urge within her had to be resisted, because it would be utterly futile to allow it. “I see,” she carefully said. “We’ll try not to detain you any longer than necessary. Just let me know what Jonathan and I have to do about these Aubertides when they appear.”

“My readings say they already have,” he confessed.

“That makes sense,” she commented, forcing her mind away from her personal angst and on to consider her misgivings earlier in the day. “There was this weird vehicle hanging about just before you turned up. One of those large transit vans with blacked-out windows.”

No sooner had she finished the words then a wall of sorrow hit her, almost blasting her with its strength, as an audible sob broke through their conversation. “No!”

“Jonathan!” she cried as she turned to seek him out, desperate to offer comfort.

He stood a mere three feet away from them, with tears dripping down his young face, a picture of woe. “It’s still all about Rose bloody Tyler, isn’t it?!” he bitterly spat in the direction of the Doctor. “Everything always comes back to her! Sod me and Mum because everything is fine as long as your memories of her lie intact.” He wiped desperately at his tears now, but it was a futile effort despite Donna rushing to attempt to help mop them up with a hankie from her pocket, as his fury remained focused on the Doctor. “Uncle Adam was right; you don’t want Mum. You never did. It was all a charade to stop Rose clinging to you!”

“Jonathan, it’s alright,” Donna gently tried to sooth him as she dabbed at his tears. “I knew all along.”

“No, it’s not alright!” Jonathan cried louder as his face utterly crumpled. “It’s not fair, Mum. You deserve more and… and… you mean so much to me.”

She threw her arms around him and held him tight, placing loving kisses on his head as he hung on to her body. “You are my everything,” she assured him. “We’ll get through this together; you and me. And soon we’ll have Shaun too.”

“Don’t forget we’ve got Uncle Adam,” Jonathan mumbled from somewhere next to her neck. “Mum, can we go home now? I want to go home.”

“Yes, darling,” she told him. “Get your things together and we’ll get going.”

As they broke apart, the Doctor icily wondered, “Who is Uncle Adam?”

“He’s erm…” 

Donna was suddenly lost for words, whereas Jonathan wetly glared at his father. “He is my uncle called Adam. D’uh! What do you care?”

“Mind your tongue, young man!” the Doctor raged. “Donna doesn’t have any siblings, so how can he be your uncle?” He turned his attack onto Donna. “Have you been picking up random men again, and getting _your_ son to call them ‘uncle’? I thought you were better than that.”

An expletive behind him in the kitchen made the Doctor turn towards the voice, and then something hit him with a god almighty force across the face. 

BAM!

“Call my daughter that again and you’ll get another one,” Sylvia threatened, shaking out the pain in her hand. It had been bloody satisfying to land one on him though. Totally worth it; especially as he had been thrown on to the floor. 

Donna’s squeak of surprise was interrupted by someone frantically ringing the doorbell. 

“That’ll be next-door to complain about all the noise,” Wilf warned as he made for the door. His surprise grew when he saw who was stood on his doorstep. “Adam?! Come on in. We weren’t expecting to see you yet.”

“Evidently not,” Adam coolly replied, and stepped over the threshold. “Oh!” he exclaimed despite himself when he saw the man lying on the hall carpet and fraught faces. “Have I missed something important?”

“Uncle Adam!” Jonathan cried with relief, and ran to hug his uncle. Adam reluctantly hugged back. “You came.”

“I did,” Adam needlessly confirmed; but there was a lot to take in. “Would you care to explain now that I am here?”

“Ah, Adam,” Jerry declared from midway up the stairs. “There’s been a lot of family drama that I have been forbidden from filming until you got here and gave permission.”

To Jerry’s amazement, Adam threw him his car keys. “Go and sit in the car for now. I shall come and collect you once I have had a chance to talk this through with Donna and her visitor,” Adam order him. “This should not take too long.”

A reluctant Jerry eyed them all as he made his way out of the house and into the cold outside. The door slammed shut and they stood regarding each other, except for the Doctor who remained propped up against the bottom steps of the stairs. 

“It was all _HIS_ fault!” Sylvia blurted out, pointing at the Doctor. 

Adam raised an inquisitive eyebrow, so Donna took over. “Adam, this is Jonathan’s father; Dr John Smith. Mum hit him when he insulted me.”

“I didn’t!” the Doctor quickly denied. But under her beady gaze, he relented. “Okay, I might have done.”

“Sylvia, I am going to need you to make us a cup of your delicious tea, and then I’m afraid the four of us…” Adam swivelled his finger to include himself, Jonathan, Donna and the Doctor. “…need to discuss this matter alone. Is that okay with you?” he finished on a highly pleasant note.

With a small huff of defiance, Sylvia nodded her agreement. 

“What about me?” Wilf added his query.

“Can I impose upon you, Wilfred my dear friend, to make us some other refreshments in the form of a sandwich or two?” Adam inquired.

Wilf touched his head with two fingers in a miniature salute. “Right you are! I’ll get onto that straight away. ”

~~~

Brother of mine slowly drove by the human house again, licking his lips with anticipation. There was much regenerative energy here to be had, and if he was wise enough, he would be able to harvest all of it. Now all he needed was an effective plan.

He had been spooked earlier by the appearance of the Doctor; his former jailer. Oh how he loathed the Time Lord with his big blue box! But he also needed him, despite all that, in order to regain what had once been rightfully his. When the broken time lock had released him, the natural thing to do had been to seek out this energy source.

The problem was a proximity one. In short, he needed to get close enough to the Doctor without being perceived as dangerous. For that he needed a human form that would be more useful, to say the least. This latest one was on its last legs; he could feel the heart within it crushing under the weight of its task. If he didn’t act soon and obtain a new body all his efforts to stay alive would be dashed. 

Looking out of the window of the transit van, he saw a likely candidate in the form of a man suddenly standing outside the house. Inwardly he crowed whilst he opened the van door to grab his next form.

~~~

Adam remained standing in Sylvia’s front parlour while Donna occupied the sofa with Jonathan; both of them had declined any more tea or sandwiches, whereas the Doctor and Adam had tucked in with gusto into the small treats Wilf had brought them, and emptied the teapot.

So far nothing had been exchanged between the two men besides details of the reality show being undertaken, the reaction from the viewing public and the ratings so far. Weirdly enough, Adam was boasting about Jonathan as he finished eating. 

“I’ve had a few enquiries from television and teen magazines about possible photo-shoots. He’s become quite an instant celebrity,” Adam explained in his usual measured way, but Donna knew by now that there was an element of excitement underlying his words. 

“I see,” the Doctor carefully replied as he leaned back to rest against the mantelpiece. “You are using my son as promotional and commercial material. That may be wonderful for your production company, but I need you to answer a question.”

Uh oh! Donna knew that tone of voice all too well. It meant he wasn’t pleased. So she waited to see if the Doctor had picked up on the things that were bothering her.

“Of course you may,” Adam acquiesced. 

The Doctor lifted away from the fireplace and placed himself directly in front of him. “Who are you? Despite you trying to hide it, I know you aren’t human.”

Jonathan squirmed nervously in his seat, hoping nobody had noticed whilst being glad Donna had taken his hand. 

A sly smile appeared on Adam’s face as he lowered his olfactory misdirection shield. “Don’t you know, Thete,” he softly wondered in Gallifreyan.

His jaw dropped. “What! What?!” the Doctor spluttered in shock, recognising his brother’s scent immediately. “You can’t be! They all died. You died, Brax!”

But Adam shook his head. “I was sent here to guard the Archive, saving it from capture and destruction. Its preservation was paramount. I’m so sorry that I wasn’t allowed to even look for you and if it wasn’t for your w… for Donna here, I would never have known you had survived too,” he explained. 

Giving out a cross between a sniff and a sob, the Doctor, exclaimed, “Brax! I have never been so glad to be wrong.”

The two brothers clasped their hands over the other’s forearms; the only physical contact they allowed themselves. A promise of future interaction was made between them as Brax telepathically revealed his habitual location.

Well, that makes even more sense, Donna considered. “Now I know why you felt so odd to me,” she confessed. “Sorry,” she added when Adam, Brax, or whatever she was supposed to call him now, coolly regarded her. 

To her surprise, he smiled pleasantly at her. “No need to be, Donna Noble, as I was similarly affected by you. But fortunately your son Jonathan informed me of your circumstances.” 

“You knew who he was?!” she accused Jonathan sitting beside her, who in turn looked incredibly sheepish.

Blushing fervently, Jonathan admitted in a tiny voice, “I knew straight away. I recognised his scent. Sorry, Mum; so sorry, but I just thought...”

“What exactly? That I’m too stupid to know? That I’d attack him? That I’m not good enough to be let in on your bloody big secret?” Donna blazed indignantly. “Go on, do tell. I’m dying to find out.”

“Well, you see, it was like this,” Jonathan stammered out, not quite finishing the excuse. He had no idea how he would explain his plotting to halt the wedding.

Scowling at him, Donna threatened, “Great, just what I wanted to hear. You will regret this when I get you home!”

“Donna, he didn’t mean it like that,” the Doctor defended Jonathan. “I’m sure he has a very good reason for omitting to tell you about Brax.”

“Yeah, sure,” she griped, deeply hurt by the betrayal.


	13. Chapter 13

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **A/N:** I am so sorry for the long delay, but I've been quite ill in the past week and haven't been able to get much written.

“It was my idea, my dear Donna,” Brax stepped nearer to say. “Please do not punish Jonathan for the omission; it was not a deliberate ploy to belittle you in any way. My true identity has remained a secret for many decades and it is only now that I have been forced to reveal myself, thanks to Jonathan’s intervention, otherwise I would have said nothing.”

“But,” Donna tried to reason, “you’ve got your own brother standing there. Are you seriously saying you’d have stayed in hiding?” 

Brax gave her a sad nod. “I was sworn to secrecy in order to protect the Archive.”

“And what about your wants and needs?” Donna compassionately argued. “That makes you little more than a firewall or some sort of a guard dog. I’ll tell you one thing for free; your Time Lords are a rubbish lot to work for, if you aren’t even allowed to speak to family. You’re nothing more than a glorified slave!”

Smiling, Brax turned to the Doctor and commented, “You chose well when you took Donna Noble with you as your wife.”

“Oh no! We’re not married,” the Doctor automatically denied.

“And not a couple,” Donna added before she could stop herself. “Why do even you think I’m his wife?”

Alternating his gaze between the two of them, Brax amended his comment, “Perhaps ‘bond mate’ would have been a more appropriate term, in the circumstances, but young Jonathan here informed me of a ceremony that took place once between you.”

“That would be the biodamp,” Donna supplied. “And it don’t count, does it, Doctor?”

“Erm,” he dithered, giving his neck a faint rub, “no, probably not. The ‘bonding’ part a little more so, given that you gained every single thought of mine; but I dealt with that when I wiped…hid my consciousness from your mind. Which rather begs the question: what happened?”

“Finally he bothers to ask me,” Donna remarked, rolling her eyes in exasperation. “As with the metacrisis, Jonathan’s regeneration was two way as well; or a combined one, it depends on how you want to view it, really. All I know is it meant we could change the bits we wanted to change and keep other things. Although in hindsight I should have ditched the ginger hair, and gone for looking even younger. But becoming more of a Time Lord meant that I could lock all your aspects safely away from me accessing them without permission or threat to my health.”

“Why would you want any other colour than ginger?” the Doctor asked incredulously. “You are beautiful... I mean, you have beautiful hair.”

What the hell was he playing at? Donna gulped down her normal involuntary retort, thinking he was merely taking the piss, and forced out a reluctant “Thank you,” since she knew he had a genuine love of ginger hair.

~~~

Having said his goodbyes to everybody, Donna offered to see Brax to the door; leaving the Doctor chatting amiably with Wilf, now sat next to Jonathan in the parlour, about Wilf’s growing vegetable plot whilst Sylvia was in the kitchen finishing off her cooking. Brax was pleased with this opportunity because he wanted to calmly talk things through for a minute or two between him and Donna. It was the first time they had been left alone for quite a while, and certainly since discovering the truth about each other.

As always, Brax was ever the gentleman as they neared the front door and sought to smooth things over this possible rough patch between them. “I wanted to say, Donna Noble that whilst I was aware there was a quality about you that required a more specific definition, I was unaware of your metacrisis state until Jonathan recognised and informed me. I felt it best to remain tight lipped rather than underhand about my discovery. Please accept my humble apologies.”

“That’s alright,” she cheerily acknowledged him, taking a hold of the latch on the door in order to open it. “It couldn’t be helped; I can see that. It’s weird to think I’m connected to you though. Not by marriage exactly, but you know what I mean.”

“I do indeed,” he agreed. “As for the marriage part, the connection can be completely formed at a later date to give Jonathan his full status.”

Donna frowned. “What do you mean? You’ll have to explain because all the Doctor’s memories have been safely tucked away out of sight in my head. It isn’t right that I should have full access to them.”

He sighed and, raising his fingertips, gently lifted her chin until they were on an equal eye level. “I mean, Donna, that it is required by my House to offer a marriage proposal to you in order to legitimise your son. This need not have any bearing upon our relationship, now or in the future. But it is a promise of betrothal, nevertheless.”

“Why on earth would you put yourself through that?” she wondered. “I mean... You’re a good looking bloke; you could have anyone you want. Why lumber yourself with me? It doesn’t make sense.”

Brax smiled kindly, fully appreciating her thoughtfulness and modesty. “I am a Time Lord of honour. Duty dictates that should my brother wilfully decide not to legitimise your son then I must do so.”

“It’s hardly fair on you though, is it?” Donna argued. “You should go out and get yourself a decent wife.”

Despite his best efforts, a chuff of laughter escaped his lips. It was a surprise to discover he could still be amused by such a creature. “A better wife than the DoctorDonna? I doubt such a woman exists. And it would be my honour to welcome you formerly into our family.”

A bright blush spread across Donna’s skin and she forced her head away from his hand. “I don’t know what to say,” she admitted after a few seconds. “That’s some compliment you’re paying me. But it would be wrong of me to accept, especially as...” Her voice trailed off as she tried to bite down on the words she desperately wanted to say. “I need to be completely honest with you. My marriage to the Doctor, well, sort a marriage… more of a shotgun one, really, if you want to look at it like that... Anyway, it means something to me; probably far more than it should or would be allowed in your Time Lord society. I know this thing between us can’t go anywhere, and that I’m marrying Shaun, but he will always be special in my heart. Oops! I keep forgetting that’s ‘hearts’ now.”

Brax reached out and gently took her hand, much to her embarrassment, but she let him do it. “Donna, if I can be of any assistance, I will. And I know that you are still in love with my brother...”

“In love with him?! Whatever makes you say that?” Donna interrupted indignantly. “I never said anything of the kind!”

“You don’t need to,” Brax insisted. “If you felt otherwise your actions towards him would have been more like your mother’s, but I can see you have forgiven his misdemeanours.”

Snorting her scorn, Donna countered, “That’s what you think.”

So Brax decided to bide his time, and gave her hand a consoling pat. “I do, so can we call a truce for now? The pressing question I need answering is: will your wedding to Shaun be continuing?”

“I see no reason for it not to,” she answered dejectedly. “It would be very awkward for your programme if it didn’t.”

“It is merely a television programme that people will forget once it is over, whereas your life will continue on according to the decision you make. Whatever your choice is, I will support it.”

Donna was overcome by his sudden show of compassion. Who knew such a man existed underneath his gruff unapproachable exterior? “Then we carry on as normal, Adam,” she replied. “Shaun is my best shot at happiness.”

“For the moment,” Brax muttered, and moved to leave.

~~~

Donna’s mobile phone went off soon after, once Brax had left and she had gone to assist with the dinner. Answering it, she found out it was Shaun. “Where the hell have you been?” she demanded to know in relief. “We were expecting you ages ago. Mum’s about to dish you up a dinner.”

“I can’t join you just yet; something’s cropped up,” Shaun cagily told her. “I’ll see you later.”

“Is that tonight or tomorrow?” she huffed. 

“Are you talking to Shaun?” Jonathan wondered as he appeared by her side. “Isn’t he coming round yet?”

Shaun nervously gulped. “I don’t… probably tomorrow. Sorry, Donna; and tell Jonathan that I’ll take him to the game, as promised.”

“Okay, I will,” she agreed, “but don’t be a stranger for too long. I’ve hardly seen you lately.”

“What’s the matter?” Jonathan asked as her expression fell. “Something wrong with Shaun?”

She stood still hugging her phone thoughtfully to her cheek. “Yes, he didn’t say goodbye, just ended the call and sounded all suspicious. If I was better at this Time Lord stuff I’d’ve known whether he was cheating on me, overtired, or just plain bored with me and all the wedding talk.”

“Mum, Shaun thinks the world of you, you know that,” Jonathan reassured her, wrapping a comforting arm around her shoulders. “And if he messes you about, I shall find ways to torture him until he regrets ever thinking of it.”

That made Donna smile; she couldn’t imagine him being so vindictive. The Doctor, yes, but not her baby boy. “Can I keep you?” she wondered.

“For ever and a day,” he readily promised.

Watching this touching little show, Sylvia suddenly had an important question to ask, “If Shaun isn’t coming, that means I’ve got a spare dinner. Jonathan, would you go and ask your father if he wants to stay after all?”

Once Jonathan left to do that, Sylvia commented, “I hope all this doesn’t mean the Doctor will be hanging around a bit more.”

“Well, he might be, Mum,” Donna answered hesitantly. “I don’t know yet.” 

“How could you, Donna? How could you even consider letting _that man_ back into your life?!” Sylvia ranted at her daughter. “He turns up here out of the blue, and we’re supposed to be pleased. Well, I’m not! Not after the way he treated you and our Jonathan.”

“Yes, Mum,” Donna sighed, giving her temple a rub in an attempt to ease away this pain in her soul. “But it’s not just me I have to consider here. Jonathan wanted to see his dad, and I can’t deny him that. It wouldn’t be right. After all’s said and done, the Doctor is still his father, and I can’t take that fact away, no matter how irritating it is to you or anybody else.”

Sylvia merely shrugged her shoulders. “You’d be better off marrying the uncle at this rate.”

“That’s a possibility,” Donna deliberately mumbled so that Sylvia wouldn’t hear. “Then you’ve got nothing to worry about, because I’ll be married to Shaun in a few days,” she said more audibly.

“Is HE staying for the wedding?” Sylvia nodded her head towards where the Doctor still sat in the other room. 

“I honestly don’t know if the Doctor will stick around, alright?” Donna huffed. “He said something about peeping in at the wedding, but that was it.”

“Good!” Sylvia gleefully dismissed him. “We’ll all be better off without him when he’s gone.”

“Yeah,” Donna weakly agreed, wondering if it would really be permanent for him, and feeling deep sadness on his behalf.

~~~

The meal family meal didn’t go so bad, considering. The Doctor had tucked in as though he was starving, as per usual, Donna noted; but at least he steered some of his conversation towards Jonathan instead of just Wilf, and got the odd answering smile. It was progress but she couldn’t help wondering how different it would be if the Doctor knew the circumstances of Jonathan’s death, and should she actually tell him and ruin his last moments?

She found herself watching him closely as he answered Wilf’s numerous enthusiastic questions. Seated to his left, it was easy to do so as he directed his conversation to Wilf on his right and Jonathan sat opposite them. Sylvia had parked herself on the end of the table to Donna’s left, well away from the Doctor and to all of their benefit. It saved arguments by being so, but it did mean that Donna was her mother’s choice for any remarks. 

Every now and then her and the Doctor’s arm or leg would brush together; an action that caused a frisson of interest unknowingly in both of them. He longed to reach out and properly hold her hand, as they once would have done, or whisper jokes only they could share together, but this situation made that impossible. It was like being watched by matching hawks. But Jonathan seated opposite them seemed to keenly encourage every accidental touch, much to the Doctor’s amazement. How much else had he got wrong about the boy? After a quick visit to Brax, he decided he would find out.

As soon as the meal had finished, the Doctor politely made his excuses to leave, going to do whatever he felt necessary to do, and Donna soon took Jonathan home with her back to the flat.

~~~


	14. Chapter 14

Jerry hadn’t got very far from the house, with Adam’s car keys held tightly in his hand, when some strange bloke sidled up to him in the dark without saying a word; invading his personal space.

“Yes, can I help you?” Jerry bluntly asked, expecting the man to suddenly demand access to the Noble family during filming. He readied himself to tell the bloke to jog on.

“The van,” the man Brother of Mine embodied hissed as he grabbed hold of Jerry’s arm. “Get in the van.”

Wrestling to get himself free, Jerry swore at the man, telling him to basically go away. 

Instead, the man leaned in and bit him viciously on the neck.

A muffled howl of pain rang out that was heard by one person in particular who had been dropped off by his mate at the corner of the road and had seen the attack.

“Here, what are you playing at? Let him go!” Shaun ordered the stranger as he rushed forward to help. He grabbed the attacker’s arms from behind and tried to heave him away from Jerry, but the strength within the assailant was fierce; and Shaun was thrown sideways instead.

“Shaun,” Jerry gasped out as his knees buckled under the effort of keeping himself upright. “Save yourself.”

“No way,” Shaun argued, and hit out at the stranger. Unfortunately his fist was instantly caught in a strong grip and his arm then twisted.

“Get in the van,” Brother of Mine repeated for the benefit of Shaun, shoving them bodily towards it.

Seeing Jerry being thrown into the open door of a large transit van, Shaun climbed in with the intention of dragging him back out again, but something blunt hit him across the back of the head and he went out like a light. The door was pulled to, and then locked with them both held prisoner inside.

~~~

When Brax, formerly known as Adam, stepped out into the cold night air, all was calm, but it didn’t taste quite right to his senses. There was an uncomfortable tang to the air that alarmed him. Quickly approaching his car, he was shocked to see that Jerry wasn’t sitting in it. Instead, he found his car keys lying on the ground near to it, and a trace of blood could easily be smelt upon them. Licking the blood cautiously, he could identify the blood as being human, but there was another essence present that should not exist.

He closed his eyes briefly in mourning for the passing of his friend. It was such an unnecessary death, and one he would personally want to avenge once he had passed this vital information onto his brother. They would meet again as soon as the Doctor finished socialising with his acquired family. There was much to plan and do.

Then pressing a button on his car key, he entered the vehicle and drove away; thinking through all the possible future scenarios he would have to deal with.

It hadn’t been long after he had entered his home and dealt with any necessary paperwork that Brax heard the familiar sound of his brother’s TARDIS. It had been quite a while since he had heard it, but the grinding of those time gears was unmistakable. 

“May I offer you a beverage, Thete?” Brax welcomed him as the Doctor stepped out into the large office.

The Doctor adjusted his eyes to the lower lighting, and smiled in relief. “A little something would be welcome,” he accepted the offer, and a glass of warm nectar was handed over before he leaned against the bookcase near his brother. He idly sipped his drink as he perused the office. “You have a nice set up here.”

“It is adequate,” Brax acknowledged. “But we are not here to discuss my working conditions. There are more pressing things we need to sort out before confronting the Aubertide.”

“Like what?” the Doctor asked as he seated himself in the leather office chair opposite Brax at the desk. 

“Oh, little things,” Brax teased as he twirled a pen between his fingers. “Like your imminent regeneration, the legality of Jonathan within our House, and marriage with Donna Noble.”

Testily, the Doctor retorted, “I’m not regenerating, Brax; I’m dying. There is a difference.”

Brax waved a hand. “Mere semantics. There is nothing to stop you regenerating unless you do something really foolish. And I can help you stave off the process a bit longer by syphoning off some of the radiation.”

He sat back. “Why would you do that?”

“Because of my duty to our House to extend its health; because I actually like you.” Brax smiled mischievously, and then stood to advance on his brother. “It won’t take me a moment, and a good night’s sleep will help me recover from it.”

“You don’t have to do this,” the Doctor quietly insisted as he felt Brax’s hands land on his shoulders, soothing out a great deal of the pain he was in. “Why are you worrying about Jonathan and Donna? Surely they are my responsibility to deal with.”

“That is my worry,” Brax admitted. “You do not seem to be in any hurry to formally take them on and introduce them into our House. I have already made a provisional marriage proposal to Donna Noble.”

“You’ve done what?!” the Doctor spluttered as Brax’s hands continued to hold him down. “But she’s mine… I mean, she is about to marry this Shaun fellow.”

“Indeed she is,” Brax agreed, and finally released his hold. “I have to consider the long term picture. Until she is properly bonded with someone in our family, Jonathan has no social or legal standing; he is merely an anomaly.” 

The words caused a shiver to course through the Doctor’s body. “He is far more than an echo,” he murmured. “What did Donna say about your proposal?”

“She was all modesty and graciousness, as one would expect of the DoctorDonna,” Brax replied, pleased to see a spark of jealousy in his brother. “She didn’t exactly turn me down, but she gave me good reason to expect a refusal.”

“Oh? Why is that?” the Doctor eagerly wondered.

“You.”

“Me?!” he cried. “Why would I stop any future alliance with you?”

Patting his shoulders, Brax stepped away from the Doctor and resumed his former seat. “Think about it, Thete. How she has welcomed your son into her life…”

“Donna has always wanted children,” the Doctor argued, interrupting him. “She absolutely yearned for them after Messaline and The Library brought her maternal instincts to the fore.”

“And you provided her with a son. I’ve seen her with him; the way they are together. She adores him,” Brax calmly pressed.

The Doctor nodded in acknowledgement. “So she should; Jonathan is a fine lad. A little hot-headed, but that’s to be expected with a mother like Donna.”

Waiting a few beats, Brax commented, “You have a strong ally in him, should you actually care for Donna.”

There was an instant and immediate indignant response. “Of course I care! Whatever makes you think I don’t?! It has been agony without her in my life, having to walk away from her in the way I did.”

Brax took a deep calming breath. “I know you superficially care, for all your companions, and always have done; but you are being offered the possibility of a more meaningful connection with Donna Noble. A bonding connection with all that entails, should you care deeply enough.” 

“Are you talking about love?” the Doctor wondered. “That isn’t allowed, as you well know.”

“With other lower species, certainly,” Brax countered. “But Donna is no longer human, or part human. She became a full Gallifreyan when she regenerated with Jonathan. Surely you were aware of this?”

He _had_ noticed, but the Doctor had also been actively denying it to himself. “Yes,” he partially whimpered, “but she doesn’t want me.”

“Oh really?!” Brax raised an eyebrow in protest. “I assure you that is very far from the truth.”

“What! What? That cannot be so!” the Doctor proclaimed.

“If you refuse to accept and act on this information, then I will be forced to continue with my future marriage proposal,” Brax stated, knowing he was goading a response from his brother. “So tell me the truth, please, Thete; do you love Donna?”

“I can’t… I don’t…” The Doctor then stood decisively. “It’s time to stop this wedding.”

~~~

That night as mother and son lay side by side in the solitary bed in the flat, Jonathan tossed and turned. He kept thinking of all the emotions he had gone through the day before; how angry he had been with his father after the initial delight of seeing him, how betrayed and upset he had been, like some normal hormonal teenager. It had been most peculiar. No wonder Uncle Brax had seemed puzzled.

Was this what it was like to gradually sexually mature? Had his mother already started to have an effect upon him? He had lots of questions, but didn’t know who he would be able to ask. Originally he would have thought that his only choice would have been Brax, but the Doctor had hinted at something else during their time together. Perhaps he was imagining it, Jonathan considered, because sitting across the table to his parents he had seen behaviour that suggested they wanted more than an amicable reunion. There had been longing looks hastily thrown towards his mother, and gooey expressions before eyes met and hands brushed against each other. Was he deluding himself by seeing that in his father? 

He had no such qualms where his mother was concerned; because he knew for certain what her motivation was. She wanted to be with the Doctor but was making do with Shaun. There wasn’t much she could hide from Jonathan, even if she tried; just as she was trying to do at the moment.

Finally giving in to the pressure within his head, Jonathan asked into the dark, “What is it, Mum? Why are you worrying so much about Dad?”

“I’m not, sweetheart. Just try and get some sleep for tomorrow,” she quickly denied.

Sitting up, he shook her arm. “I know you are, despite all your efforts to shield it from me.”

“Come here,” she softly ordered, and turning towards him, drew him into a cuddle. “Nothing more than ifs or buts. It was good to see you smiling with him tonight, though.”

That didn’t sound quite right to him. “I know Dad had a fatal dose of radiation but he’s permanently dying, isn’t he? That’s why you’ve been so nice to him.”

She couldn’t put anything passed him, she realised, even when she tried to hide it. “Yes, that’s why.”

“I don’t want Dad to die,” he sadly voiced. 

“I know. I didn’t want my dad to die either, Sweetheart, but unfortunately we don’t always get to choose these things.” She pressed a kiss to his head. “Would it be daft of me to offer a solution? About your dad, I mean.”

“Mum, you’d have that Aubertide make a beeline straight for you! Please don’t do it. Please don’t! I can’t lose you both,” he sniffed, clutching at her waist.

“Ah, but if I get it right, you’d have both of us for a very long time,” she suggested. “Just not ‘together’ together, before you go thinking that.”

“Both would be excellent,” he agreed, still hoping for the ‘together’ part, and snuggled further into her embrace before falling briefly to sleep.

~~~

“Doctor?!” Donna exclaimed in surprise when she found him standing on her doorstep a few hours later. “Come in, but Jonathan isn’t here. He’s just popped down to the corner shop to get us some milk.”

He stepped in over the threshold and regarded the flat with interest. “Will he be long?”

“No. That desperate to have a cup of tea, eh?” she teased. “The flat’s a bit small but we’ve already had an offer to go and live somewhere bigger for the same price. It’s nice to know that the television programme is achieving something.”

“Quite,” he absently answered, and then focused on her. “Or you could live rent free with Brax.”

She immediately pinked up in embarrassment. “Oh! He told you about that, did he? Thought he would. Well, I won’t deny that I’m tempted by the offer when things go pear-shaped with Shaun.” 

“Is he here?” the Doctor asked, sweeping his gaze towards the open doorways. “I have yet to meet him.”

“You were supposed to meet him last night but he was held up,” she explained, wondering why exactly the Doctor wanted to meet him. “Jonathan gets on well with him; they’ve become van buddies.” When the Doctor frowned, she tacked on, “Shaun has a flash new van that Jonathan loves riding about in at every opportunity. I’m sure he’d stick his head out the window like a dog, given half a chance.”

“Donna,” he began to say, having decided to start his pitch; but Donna instantly halted his words.

“Hang on a tick,” she requested as her mobile phone began to play a specific tune. “That’ll be Jonathan,” she stated as she pulled the phone out of her pocket and answered it. “Hello! Is there a problem?” She listened carefully. “What?! Don’t move; we’ll be right there!” Grabbing hold of the Doctor’s sleeve, she dragged him out the front door without a by-your-leave. “Come on you. We’re needed.”

~~~


	15. Chapter 15

It had started innocently enough. Jonathan was stood in the small corner shop having picked up a two pint bottle of milk, whilst perusing the confection on offer and wondering if he had enough money on him to treat his mother to a nice bar of chocolate. His first month’s wage was yet to be paid to him and anything that was earned from the television programme had yet to filter down to him. Never mind; he had been given some spending money by Uncle Brax, and it more than easily covered his travelling expenses. 

His attention was caught by a particularly tempting bar of Galaxy milk chocolate that he knew Donna would adore and appreciate in the next couple of days. Not that he was supposed to be acutely aware of her bodily cycles but theirs was a special relationship with very few secrets. Then he noticed feminine giggles to his side.

He turned his head to see what could possibly be that amusing, and spied two young teenage girls huddled together, murmuring at the end of the short aisle. Both of them smiled shyly in his direction. Was this what it was like to be flirted with? Could be. It was quite nice, he found so, being polite, he smiled back at them, and then carried on looking at the sweets whilst trying to tune in to them. 

There was another giggle and much whispering behind held up hands. Oh great, what were they plotting to do, he wondered when the flirty aspect seemed to disappear and something else took its place. Deciding to abandon the chocolate buying and just get out of there as quickly as possible, he started to make his way towards the till. 

There was a flurry of movement behind and then directly in front of him.

“Excuse me, but are you off that telly programme. The one with the weddings,” the bolder of the two girls halted his progress by asking him. 

“Erm…,” he stammered, not wanting to tell the truth. “Could be. Why?”

“We think you’re lovely!” the other girl blurted out, and then covered her mouth with her hand. 

“That’s very kind of you,” he modestly responded, feeling himself blush. “I have to go now. Bye!”

Stepping to the side to let him through, they stood avidly watching him as he paid for the milk and then left the shop. Hopefully that was it, he thought; except it wasn’t. They started to follow him as he walked towards home. But it suddenly got worse when he reached the corner of the road and went to cross over to the other side. From down the street he could see several more girls, all giggling together and heading his way. They couldn’t want to see him, could they? Surely not. This was a sheer fluke. For goodness sake, he hadn’t even agreed to do that photo-shoot Uncle Brax had once suggested yet.

And then all his suspicions were confirmed when one of them yelled out, “There he is!”

“Oh no!” he gulped as they surged forward.

Jonathan turned on his heel and ran! He ran as fast as he could. His mind darted all over the place as he planned out his escape route. The last thing he wanted was to lead them all the way to his home. 

Perhaps if he could get to his Nan’s he’d be in with a better chance, or he could contact Uncle Brax. Without even bothering to look at his phone, he automatically dialled Donna’s number. “Mum, I’ve got a massive problem in the shape of a load of girls. They’re hunting me down,” he explained, trying to keep the fear out of his voice, but this was too reminiscent of when he was being chased by Rose and those guards. Being shot had hurt like hell and he had no intention of going through anything remotely like that again. “I’m in Maple Crescent and am going to cut through towards Nan’s.”

He heard his mother’s reassuring answer and ended the call. There was no doubt in his mind that she would rescue him. Skidding to a halt as he dodged behind a convenient post box, he spotted a large transit van draw up beside him. Inside was sat a familiar figure, so he ignored all the warning signs as relief flooded his system. “Jerry! Thank goodness it’s you,” Jonathan cried, and stepped towards the van. “Can you give me a lift?”

Jerry leaned across and opened the door in invitation. “Get in,” he ordered. 

“What have you been eating?” Jonathan asked as he clambered onto the front passenger seat and shut the door behind him. “It really stinks in here. If I didn’t know any better I’d say…” The van began to pull away at that point as his brain kicked in to gear. “Oh!” he gasped out in realisation. “You’re not Jerry anymore.”

Brother of Mine grinned with satisfaction from the driving seat. “And you are not the Doctor, but you will do. Very well.”

You can do this, it isn’t the same as facing a gun, Jonathan told himself, as he waited for a plan to form in his mind. Then he was startled by banging that came from within the main body of the van behind his seat.

Thumping the back of the cab, Brother of Mind yelled out, “Shut it! I’ll deal with you in a minute!”

All went quiet for a few moments.

“Your cargo giving you grief?” Jonathan wondered as nonchalantly as he could. If there was someone else in the van perhaps they would be able to work together. “Or is it the Mrs?”

That gained him a sneer, but the van continued along its unknown path. So Jonathan cautiously slipped his hand into his pocket and started up the tracker app on his phone.

“Keep your hands where I can see them,” Brother of Mine demanded.

“Or you’ll do what exactly?” Jonathan defiantly wondered.

Suddenly the van stopped, throwing him forward towards the dashboard before the seatbelt tightened and half throttled him.

“Don’t tempt me to eat you here and now.” Brother of Mine glowered. 

“Still feeling a little bit full after eating Jerry, eh?” Jonathan goaded him. “You’re a bit rubbish as an Aubertide.”

Brother of Mine wrenched the steering wheel sideways as they careered off at a fast rate, forcing Jonathan to hold on tightly to the locked door. Damn not having a sonic screwdriver! If he had had one, he would have been out of there like a shot. As it was, he had to wait until this numpty stopped and let him out. Anger flared through him. 

It wasn’t long until the transit van was stopped as though it was a sudden decision. They were sat in a secluded lane edged by woodland. “It’s time we had a proper chat,” Brother of Mine hissed at Jonathan, “in the back of the van.”

He was only too willing to get out of the cab, but as for climbing into the back of the van, well, that was another matter entirely. Reluctantly, he stood in the lane and recced the landscape. Not a soul was to be seen, not even a dog walker. Would anyone even hear if he made a loud noise? Oh well. There was only one way to find out.

~~~

Donna tried to override her panic and listen in to where Jonathan could possibly be as her and the Doctor ran along Acton Road. In front of them was a gaggle of girls, all looking rather put out.

“Why did you let him get out of our sight?” one of them accused another girl standing by her side.

“I didn’t!” she fervently denied. “You saw him just as much as I did!”

“Let’s go look up there” another girl suggested; and the whole crowd moved as one.

The Doctor hastily pulled Donna out of their way and into a nearby phone box as the group of girls turned and aimed for their direction. She swivelled and pretended to speak into the phone as the girls stomped passed them.

“This is bloody difficult,” she grumbled as she tried again to mental reach out to wherever Jonathan was, and came up with nothing. “Why can’t you hand out a Time Lord manual when you have the chance?”

“Because most of my companions don’t physically change,” the Doctor retorted. “Or were you referring to a generalised owner’s manual.”

She shrugged. “Both works, and would have been helpful, since you never told me you could possibly regenerate. That would have been really useful information; unless you being distracted from noticing a bloody big Dalek is a major component, of course.”

“Not usually, although Daleks were involved with four of my last regenerations. I’ll make a note of finding a manual for next time. That’s if there is a next time, of course,” he noted to himself. “Talking of which, you don’t seem very worried.”

She was confused as she brought out her phone and clicked on the tracker app. “Worried about what? We know Jonathan isn’t being attacked by a bunch of girls, so what should I be worrying about?”

“My imminent death,” he carefully enunciated.

“Well,” she began, pocketing her phone, “that’s because I’m not, for what it’s worth.”

Deeply hurt, he spat out, “Thanks!”

“I don’t mean it like that,” she gently insisted, reaching out a hand to touch his arm in comfort. “You see, I know you are dying and you’ve been worrying about that song prophecy for ages, but it doesn’t have to be your ultimate end.” When he shot her a look of disbelief, she continued, “I’ve been mulling it over, and I’ve got an idea how you can fight back.” 

“Oh really?!” He raised a quizzical eyebrow. “What’s this idea of yours then?”

“Well, you see, Spaceman, I was thinking; if you had another handy receptacle that matched your DNA then you could heal yourself like you did the last time, and then syphon off the rest,” Donna explained.

“And where exactly would I get such a receptacle?” he almost mocked her. “There isn’t one lying around here.”

“Ah, but there could be,” she insisted, “if you got me pregnant.”

“What?!” he spluttered. “Me, and you, having….? I think you’re getting a little ahead of yourself, love.”

“Not in that way, you div!” she poured scorn on him. “And not with a turkey baster either, before you suggest that one. All it would take is a transfer of some DNA material and I’d do the rest. I can easily stimulate ovulation, and then create procreation and gestation.”

“But… but… why would you do that? You’d be left as a single parent,” he pointed out.

She rolled her eyes in exasperation. “And that would be different from what I am now because…? I have Jonathan but I always wanted more than one child, plus I don’t think it’s healthy for him to be on his own.”

“Okay,” he faintly conceded with a nod of his head. “I’m still not sure I should be considering creating a child in order to save my own life. It’s unethical.”

“It’s exactly what I want, so why are you questioning it?” she wanted to know. “You don’t have to stick around. You’re totally free to go out and pick yourself up another young kid to travel around the universe with; or go back for Rose, if that’s what you still want.”

Oh no, he couldn’t have her thinking he was going to do that! “Donna, if I wanted to do that with Rose I would have kept her with me instead of dropping her back in the alternate universe with her family,” he insisted.

“Yeah, right!” she scoffed. “Anyone would think that I don’t know you tried to give her exactly what she wanted when you dumped Jonathan with her. Shame it was doomed from the start, and you decided to ignore that fact. But that’s beside the point. I’m trying to give us both what we want; me a baby and you your life.”

“How are you planning to carry out this DNA transfer?” he wondered as she stepped nearer to him. “Assuming of course you are going the non-sex route, which let’s face it, you’d have to do being sterile as a Gallifreyan.” He frowned heavily. “You can’t ovulate and there aren’t any looms anymore.”

A smug smile flitted across her face. “One benefit of being an ex-human is that I could decide to keep my fertile aspect when I changed. The universe and the Time Lords have been waiting for me! I can control most of my bodily functions. Now all I need is you.”

“Me? What do I do?” he softly questioned as she pressed even closer and his body went on alert, for several reasons.

“This,” she murmured, and grabbed hold of his head, placing her lips upon his mouth in a similar fashion to how she had done so in Edington Manor.


	16. Chapter 16

Unlike their kiss in the kitchen of Edington Manor this time it was much slower, gentler, and far more sensual than before. Donna sought out a connection by passionately giving her all; knowing that he might not like her invading him with her tongue as she delved for his DNA. But to her surprise he didn’t fight her off. Quite the opposite happened. 

Hands smoothed over clothing, gripping and holding desperately, before they moved towards available flesh to caress. The Doctor found himself responding as their soft lips moved on each other, enjoying this experience on a deeper level as tongues met, gliding together, their mouths meshed and their interests matched. 

Arousal threatened to flare, but instead something more magical happened. Whispers of time eddied around them, dancing along to their song of hope before twirling away. 

Along the time lines that spun around them, he saw a child, a beautiful child, who brought sunshine into their lives. Oh how he longed for the chance to hold her, and he knew in that second what would allow that to happen. Donna was offering him so much happiness in that instant and he was more than willing to reach out and embrace it.

She saw it too, and knew he wanted the chance to meet their future child; the yearning radiated out from him. But still she denied that he could possibly want her too as part of the package, seeing herself still as the friend with benefits. Life didn’t tend to hand her such love on a plate, it always came tied up with terms and conditions; and she was determined not to be blinkered by that. 

But this kiss with him, she wanted it to go on forever. It was wonderful be to be the centre of his love and attention, so who in their right mind wouldn’t make the most of it? This might turn out to be her only chance. 

It was only the sound of someone nearby fiddling with something that distracted her enough to break the kiss. Especially the disapproving sniff that offended her senses.

A faint groan had escaped from his throat just before she released him and backed away. All too soon he was left grasping at air and not her any more. They stood regarding each other, stunned by their actions.

“Wow! I can see what the attraction of kissing you is now,” she reluctantly admitted, huffing out a breath. “You’ll be glad to know you won’t have to do that again. I’ve got all I need.”

“You have?” he half squeaked, and fought to regain his composure. “Any time you need some more, just let me know.”

She raised a quizzical eyebrow at him in disbelief. “Yeah, sure. Just give me a few minutes and then I’ll be ready for when you blow.”

Surely she didn’t mean…! “Blow?”

“When you do the Roman candle impression,” she clarified. “I wasn’t ready for it last time, and was scared silly, but I’m genned up on it now so I know the score.”

“You’re that woman from the wedding programme with the son,” the harsh accusing tones of a teenage girl suddenly disrupted proceedings. She then lifted her phone and took another photo of them. “Aren’t you marrying someone else? You were kissing him like it’s going out of fashion.” The girl then screwed her face up in utter disgust. “It was gross.”

Both the Doctor and Donna glared at her impudence. 

“What?! Carrying on like that in the street ain’t right,” the teen protested. “And you’re cheating on your fiancé.” 

The Doctor’s face turned to thunder. “She is my w…”

“Very good close friend,” Donna instantly interrupted, stepping in front of him. “So mind your own business!” The phone in her pocket vibrated, distracting her away from dealing with this snivelling little upstart. It flashed the position of Jonathan at her. “Why’s he all the way over there?!” she asked in confusion as she peered at the map. “That’s miles away.”

Having surreptitiously pointed his sonic screwdriver at the teenager’s phone and obliterated any photo she had taken on there, the Doctor lifted his head to sniff the air. “Good. Brax is here,” he noted as a sleek black car pulled up by the side of them. He took a firm hold of Donna’s hand and guided her forward. “We have a more important things then a teen to worry about.”

Without a backward glance, they both climbed into the back of Brax’s car. 

The teenager stood watching them go with glee. “Just wait until everyone hears about this!” she squealed to herself, and then set about texting her friends.

~~~

“Thanks, Adam. I mean, Brax. Sorry. Nice car,” Donna greeted him as they settled into their seats and adjusted the seat belts.

“You’re welcome,” he returned the greeting, and drove away at a fast rate of knots. “Jonathan’s tracking devise was activated a short while ago. Fortunately I was nearby and could locate you both too. What were you up to?”

Donna opened and closed her mouth a few times, wondering how they should word it.

“Oh, nothing much,” the Doctor denied. “Just dealing with some DNA.”

Brax shoot him a disbelieving look via his rear-view mirror. His senses were telling him something else entirely, but he would let it go for the moment. Instead he was more concerned about Jonathan. Without a familial bond he was dependent upon the satnav readings he was being fed, and studiously followed. “No doubt you are aware that there has been some more activity from our friend the Aubertide. Sadly, we lost Jerry sometime last night around midnight. If Jonathan is in danger, and I suspect he is, at least the Aubertide won’t be quite hungry enough yet.”

“Yet!” Donna near shrieked in fear. “How long until it will be?” 

“An hour, maybe two, if we’re lucky,” the Doctor sombrely supplied. “If it attacks Jonathan than his regenerative energy will feed the Aubertide for years to come.”

“Over my dead body it will!” Donna spat out in anger. “Give it some welly, Brax. Who cares about a bloody speeding ticket when my son’s life is at stake?”

Obediently, Brax increased his speed and shared a satisfied smile with his brother. Yes, they had chosen very well.

~~~

Brother of Mine pushed Jonathan roughly up against the side of the van, pinning him there by the throat.

“Shut up!” he ordered, not relinquishing his grip. “Or I shall permanently shut you up here and now!”

“That’d spoil your dinner,” Jonathan hoarsely gasped out. Something within him knew this Aubertide wasn’t quite ready to eat yet, and planned to use that information to his advantage. There was something else he was going to try out first, and brought his arm up to deflect ex-Jerry’s arm.

It was easily defeated. “Don’t try your martial arts tricks on me, little boy,” Brother of Mine sneered. “You are too feeble and useless against my strength.”

“Shame you can’t get rid of the strong smell too,” Jonathan grumbled. “You need to carry some peppermints.”

“Fool!” Brother of Mine snarled, and thrust Jonathan towards the back door of the van. “Get in.”

“You’ll have to let go first,” Jonathan pointed out unhelpfully. 

But all Brother of Mine did was drag him along the outer body of the van, neither knowing nor caring if he had harmed the lad. Jonathan gasped for a healthy breath; he may have a respiratory bypass system but he still needed to breathe once in a while. 

Seconds later the rear door of the van was pulled open and he gained the chance to peer in and see who was inside. His stomach clenched in sympathy when he saw it was Shaun lying on the van floor, covered in cuts and bruises. Obviously Brother of Mine had not treated him with any respect. His own respect for Shaun went up a notch or too when the door was flung open.

Shaun crawled forward towards them as best he could, blinded by the sudden invasion of the light and ignoring the pain in his legs. “What are you doing with him? Let him go!” he spat out when he saw who ex-Jerry was holding so tightly.

“I’m so sorry, Shaun,” Jonathan hoarsely whispered. “I’ll try and get us out of this.”

A hollow laugh burst out of Brother of Mine. Did this youngling really think he could escape? As if he would let such a tasty morsel go. The smells emanating from this one were delicious. “I shall enjoy devouring you and your little friend.”

“Take me but let Shaun go,” Jonathan bravely demanded. “You don’t need him, only me.”

“So touching, that future father and son should want to rescue each other,” Brother of Mine mocked as Shaun tried to get nearer, and he used a well-aimed boot to kick him back inside the van. “Now do as you are told.” With that, he viciously threw Jonathan inside and onto the van floor. “I shall deal with you both later.”

Then the van door was slammed shut and they were left in the semi-darkness. Shaun crawled nearer and placed a consoling hand upon Jonathan. “Are you alright? How bad is it?” he asked with great alarm, his eyes flitting over the boy’s body as he looked for injuries.

“I’m fine; I’m alright,” Jonathan instantly insisted despite it hurting like hell to talk. “What about you?” he wondered, tenderly touching Shaun’s shoulder.

“I’ve been in better hotels,” Shaun joked, trying to lighten their mood. “Now don’t you worry. It will be alright,” he attempted to sooth him. “We’ll find a way out of this.”

Jonathan allowed himself a tiny sob as Shaun’s concern hit him. Why couldn’t his own father have been like this? And then he wanted to burst into tears as Shaun wrapped his arms around him. As he took the offered comfort, unashamedly clinging onto Shaun, Jonathan silently vowed he would save this precious human being.

“You’re a top bloke, Shaun,” he murmured. “I know I’ve never said this before but I want you to know that I’m glad Mum found you.”

Shaun gave a self-conscious grunt of approval. “Thanks, mate. I like you too,” he said, giving Jonathan’s hair a fond ruffle. The thought of Donna made him hug her son even tighter. However would he explain it to her if something awful happened to him? Everything about her had blossomed since she had got Jonathan back. She had been beautiful before, but now she was absolutely stunning. “I promise I’ll get you back to her and we’ll make her proud.”

The van moving off again reminded him that he needed to contact someone else fast; so Jonathan closed his eyes and concentrated on reaching out to his mother.

~~~

Donna suddenly gripped the Doctor’s hand tighter. He had already taken hold of it as they drove along.

“What is it?” he asked.

“Jonathan! He’s been captured by that Aubertide, and it’s got him and Shaun locked up in the back of a van,” she agitatedly supplied.

“That explains the movement,” Brax commented as his attention flicked to the special satnav he had set up in his car. “At this rate we’ll have them in vision within one minute and fourteen seconds.”

She pressed herself up against the car window, desperately peering out as she sought that first glimpse. 

The Doctor placed his hands on her shoulders to offer comfort. “We will be in time,” he softly stated.

“Yeah,” she agreed, wiping at her eyes. “But what state will he be in? I’m getting a lot of pain from him.”

“He will heal,” he reminded her. “It will take a few hours at the most.”

“And what if that thing decides to take a chunk out of him? Out of both of them? What then?! My whole world is inside that van,” she ended speaking on a sad note.

Gulping down his own hurt, the Doctor assured her, “I will get him back for you in one piece.”

“There it is!” she shrieked as the van came into view. 

“Ready?” Brax asked the Doctor as he aimed his car straight for it.

“Ready,” the Doctor confidently replied.

~~~


	17. Chapter 17

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **WARNING:** contains a character death.

As they drove nearer to the van, Donna realised what Brax might be about to do. 

Slapping him across the back of the head, she roared, “Don’t ram the bloody van, you idiot! What are you trying to do? Kill the whole bloody lot of them?!”

Clearly shocked, he slowed down and glared at the Doctor via his mirror. “Would you please control your bond mate!” 

“Oi! Talk to the organ grinder, not the monkey!” she bit back. Calming down, she blurted out, “Sorry. You almost had them then. I just didn’t want us to cause an accident.”

“My dear Donna,” Brax cautiously responded, “my main concern is for the wellbeing of my nephew. I will do everything I can to get Jonathan out of that creature’s clutches.”

“Thank you,” she quietly acknowledged, not trusting herself to say anymore as Brax then sped up again. 

“Monkey?” the Doctor questioned her indignantly. “I know Brax pushed things a bit far by calling you my bond mate, but… really?!”

“Stop trying to distract me from worrying,” she warned him. “I know your tactics.”

“Almost worked though, didn’t it?” He mischievously grinned at her, and she was powerless to stop herself from returning it. 

“You tart!” she mocked him and shook her head. “If I’m a Bond mate then that makes you Daniel Craig. I should be so lucky.”

The sound of both men laughing was a welcome sound as they neared their prey for the second time.

~~~

The van stopped abruptly, and the driver’s door could be heard to slam shut.

“This is it,” Shaun whispered to Jonathan, giving his arm one last squeeze of comfort. “We attack together, right?”

Jonathan anxiously licked his lips. “Erm, Shaun, there’s this thing I need to tell you about, when I die.”

“Hey! Nobody is going to die, least of all you,” Shaun soothed. “Me and you have a game to go to on Saturday. We can’t miss that.”

“It depends,” Jonathan started to reply as the rear van door was wrenched open and Brother of Mine stood there in his best menacing pose, coldly regarding them. “Have we stopped for chips?” he chirpily wondered as Brother of Mine bent forward.

Inevitably he grabbed hold of Jonathan by the scruff of his neck and dragged him out of the van. “Yes, I’ve stopped for a bite to eat, youngling.”

Seeing red, Shaun launched himself at ex-Jerry, with fists flying; punching as hard as he could. “Leave him alone!” he yelled. 

With one swift and fluid movement, Brother of Mine slammed Jonathan into the van door, instantly dazing him, threw him aside, and then pulled Shaun closer as though he were a rag doll. “Want to swap places?” he asked, obviously expecting a negative answer. 

Shaun glanced at the injured teen and stared into Brother of Mine’s face. “You’ll take him over my dead body.”

“So be it,” Brother of Mine declared, and bit down onto Shaun’s neck.

The resultant scream that rang out was joined by Jonathan’s howl of denial.

~~~

Slowing down, Donna immediately clutched her head. “What’s that bastard done to my baby?!” she screamed out. “I’ll kill him with my bare hands!”

As the car stopped they could see the van had backed up, parked just inside a field. The rear door was wide open but they couldn’t see who stood behind it or where Jonathan was exactly yet, and wouldn’t do until they entered the field. There was, however, somebody stood next a crumpled body lying on the grass. The sight made them all cry out in shock.

“Donna?” the Doctor asked her desperately. “How bad is it?”

“He’s not dead,” she stated with some relief, “but he’s far from happy.” Thank goodness she could mentally reach out and reassure her son that help was on the way. She even gained a faint smile with her image of the cavalry galloping towards him. 

Unfortunately child locks halted their exit from the car, so Brax opened the door to let them out. In his hand were two small devices and he handed one to the Doctor as he climbed out. “Donna, I think it best if you stay here,” he suggested as she shuffled across the seat to get out.

“Why? I’m not some daft slip of a girl who will fall and twist her ankle at the first sight of trouble,” she grouched. “I am capable of looking after myself.”

“You are also pregnant,” the Doctor hissed at her in warning. “And we don’t want the Aubertide to use your joint energy to feed himself on.”

Still furious, she forced herself to concede that he had a point. “Alright, but don’t expect me to just sit here and wait for you two excuses for men to solve the problem.”

“Wouldn’t dream of it,” he airily retorted, and followed Brax to peer over the hedge at the Aubertide. 

Communicating silently with each other, the two brothers forged out a plan to confront the Aubertide, and entered the enclosure further up the field where the ground rose into a small hill.

Taking the lead, Brax climbed up onto the hillock. “Release him, Aubertide,” he loudly commanded Brother of Mine.

Now using the form of Shaun, the Aubertide took in a deep breath, liking what he smelt. “What’s it to you, Time Lord? I’ve already ruined your television programme project. This youngling is mine to do with as I please.”

“I think not,” Brax retorted, raising his hand. Within it was a small device that emitted an amber flickering light. “My nephew belongs elsewhere.”

“Nephew,” Brother of Mine repeated with keen interest. “Your tiny coproctulator cannot defeat me all on its own.”

“What about two of them?” queried the Doctor, as he too climbed up and threatened him with an identical device.

“Doctor!” Brother of Mine gasped out in fear before recomposing himself. “Why should you care about this Time Lord’s nephew?”

“Because his nephew is my son!” the Doctor snapped back. “Release him immediately or you will regret it.” 

Both Time Lords held up their coproctulators higher to underline their words; their determination etched into their faces.

“And why should I do that?” Brother of Mine mocked.

There was a THANG! And he pitched forward, landing face first in the dirt.

“Because I don’t take kindly to pod people body snatcher things murdering my fiancé and harming my son,” Donna spat at his prone form. In her hands was a heavy car tyre foot pump. “Who said you don’t need these anymore?” she wondered, waving it vaguely at the two brothers. “Well go on then! Do your co-whatever it is thing to him!”

“Coproctulator, Donna,” the Doctor corrected her as they raced forward and emitted the joint beams at the Aubertide. 

Within seconds, Brax had the Aubertide tightly bound inside a glowing amber ball of light, as the stolen form of Shaun screamed for mercy and writhed in pain. 

A very wary Jonathan came and stood by them, numbly watching the creature without feeling any sympathy. The only acknowledgement he made was when Donna wrapped an arm around him and let him lean on her. “He killed Shaun, Mum! He started to eat him,” he sobbed, and shuddered at the memory. “It should have been me but Shaun took my place.”

She kissed his forehead, and rubbed his arms. “That sounds like Shaun,” she wetly agreed as grief started to hit her properly. “He was a gentleman.”

“I’m so sorry, Mum.” Jonathan began to cry. “It’s all my fault.”

“No it isn’t,” she insisted, crying with him as he threw himself on her and she hugged him tight. “I’ve lost yet another husband before I can marry them. It seems I’m just not destined to have a real husband, no matter how many times I try; but I am so grateful he let me keep you.”

“Oh Mum,” he gasped out, and sobbed even louder within her arms. 

_Thete, please let me help the boy,_ Brax begged as he witnessed another distressful moment for his nephew. _Reform the bond with Donna and then we can become a family._

_I can’t; she doesn’t want me,_ the Doctor sadly insisted. _I’ve just made her a widow again._

Sighing deeply, Brax gave the Doctor a reassuring smile. _Please, don’t leave it too long before you fix this. I’ll deal with the Aubertide while you take Donna and Jonathan home. They need you. Make it right between you all or you’ll never find peace._

_I’ll try,_ the Doctor promised him.

~~~

Sometime later, they arrived back at Donna’s flat and put an exhausted Jonathan to bed once they had heard his version of events. The hardest part had been informing Shaun’s family of his demise, causing many more tears to be shed, along with reassurances that the alien culprit had been found and dealt with.

To be honest, it wasn’t the end of things that the Doctor normally had to deal with, but he was more than willing to support his son and Donna in that moment. It allowed them to start their emotional bonds. Now all he needed to do was follow that through properly.

They had just got Jonathan to fall into a deep sleep, thanks to a touch of ‘dad skills’ from the Doctor, when Wilf turned up on the doorstep; thus postponing his plan.

“So, Doctor, what did your brother end up doing with that murdering swine?” Wilf asked after all the explanations as he helped himself to another cup of tea.

Stifling a laugh at the man’s usage of language, the Doctor forced a serious expression onto his face. “Brax gave him the eternal supply of energy he wanted by burying him inside some Vinvocci glass we picked up from a mansion near here.”

“That bad, is it?” Wilf wondered.

“It is when it’s screwed into a lamp post. Oh well. At least he saw the light,” the Doctor joked, ignoring the groan of disgust from Donna to his side. 

“Don’t tell me; his spark of life will fizzle out,” she remarked, and finished her tea, putting the cup down carefully. “I’d better go and check on Jonathan,” she stated, and went to stand up.

“And I’d better get on home,” Wilf added as he hurriedly drank his own cup of tea and stood to go. “You’ve all had a busy day.”

“Thanks, Wilf.” The Doctor shook his hand and escorted him to Donna’s front door. “It was good to see you, as usual.”

Wilf suddenly surprised him by wrapping his old arms around him. “Look after yourself, and them. Bye sweetheart!” He added a hug to Donna who appeared to say goodbye to him.

Looking back, Wilf gave the pair of them a wave as he disappeared down the balcony corridor outside Donna’s flat, leaving them standing in the doorway together.

The look the Doctor gave her felt a bit too intense so, to defuse the situation, Donna told him, “Just give me the nod when you need to shoot your essence at me.” She then turned and headed into her lounge.

“My what?!” he spluttered, following in her wake. “Oh, you mean my regenerative energy.” 

“Yeah, that and all,” she teased saucily, giving him a wink as she sat herself down. 

He made sure that he sat next to her. “Donna, I don’t think you should do this…”

Not this again! “As I told you, Doctor, you are not expected to hang around, be actively involved or anything with this baby. But you giving her some of your energy would make her a full Time Lord, right?”

“Yes,” he reluctantly confirmed. “But.. She? The baby is a she?” he squeaked out.

Donna nodded slowly back at him. “This one is.” When he raised a querying eyebrow, she added, “I took enough for another one later on, just in case. He… I mean it’s in stasis within my body.”

“Donna!” he gasped out in astonishment.

“And there’s the dad shock reappearing again,” she mocked. “I wasn’t going to tell you yet, but keep it as a surprise for after you’ve done the whole phoenix act. It can’t be long now.”

Yes, it would be any second now, he realised as energy fizzed across his skin. But there was other business to resolve first. For a start, he was puzzled. “Why wait until then?”

“So that you’d know for certain that you needn’t feel guilty about me as you fly off with another young girl,” she confidently declared. “I’ll have plenty to keep me busy here on Earth for a while.”

“And after that?” he softly wondered.

A proud smile lit up her face. “Then me and Jonathan have plans to do a spot of cosmic travelling of our own. He’s come up with a way to build a TARDIS for himself. The other one died, before you ask.”

“Ah, that explains the odd sensation outside your mother’s house,” he noted. “I’ve been meaning to ask: why didn’t he stay with Rose like he should have done?”

To his surprise, anger flitted across Donna’s face.


	18. Chapter 18

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **Warning:** probably not the best thing for Rose fans to read. It **really** isn't.  
>  **A/N:** I’m definitely stopping at 19 parts. Honest. I think....

Anyone would think Donna had just eaten a wasp, judging by the scowl on her face. “Jonathan made the decision to get back here to me because Rose couldn’t love him,” she tightly responded to the Doctor’s query.

That didn’t sound right to him. “What do you mean?” the Doctor objected. “She loved me with all her heart, crossed several universes to get back by my side, never giving up, and she would have done anything for me.” 

Snorting her scorn, Donna fiercely replied, “Oh, I personally know that she would do absolutely anything. Like ripping up a dying TARDIS, how she isn’t above killing people in order to send messages or cross dimensions without regard for the welfare of the inhabitants involved despite being told not to, as long as it meant getting back to you. Yeah, for YOU she would have done anything, but not Jonathan. Her affection for him had limitations.”

“Surely not!” he protested, unable yet to see the shop girl he had run away with as this creature Donna was describing. “Rose is nothing but a sweet, loving and compassionate girl.” 

That sparked the indignant fury even more within Donna, and she couldn’t hold back on the vitriol that spewed from her mouth. “Oh yeah?! That little girl… Your precious darling Rose gave the order for him to be shot in the back as he tried to escape from being captured by Torchwood. SHE is the reason my son died! I trusted her with my baby. Why the hell did I do that? Tell me! He died in my arms as he fought for breath, bleeding all over me from three horrific wounds. I don’t need to remind you what that is like, so don’t go spouting the sainted Rose speech at me because I don’t want to hear it!”

Stunned by this news, all he could do was splutter, “Donna, I…”

“Oh, just bugger off, will you?!” she blazed, expecting him to continue to defend her son’s executioner. “Go and mourn your beloved version of Rose somewhere else. And don’t bother coming back until later, when I’m further along,” she suggested, pointing towards her stomach in emphasis. “Perhaps I’ll be more amenable by then.”

“I doubt it,” he retorted; rather unwisely in the circumstances, but fortunately for him she was too upset to lash out. 

Instead she just glared at him, giving him the silent treatment. 

The angry tension hung in the air between them for a minute or two; but the Doctor had to know what the details were. His addled brain tried to make sense of it all, how Rose had changed, what had happened to his son, the fact that he had someone who called themselves his son, and that the ending he had given Rose as a reward had all gone horribly wrong somewhere along the line. The thoughts whirled around his head whilst several dots were starting to join up to create a picture that wasn’t pretty. An air of defeat hung around him as he mentally acknowledged sending his son to his death and if it weren’t for the fact he had got back to Donna, it would have been permanent.

“I’m sorry, so sorry. Rose has her flaws, I admit that. Hard not to. But it can’t have been all her fault. What exactly did go wrong between them when Jonathan was in Pete’s World?” he asked. 

“He was a child in an adult body, in case you hadn’t guessed,” Donna tetchily explained. “That meant he couldn’t perform in accordance to her wishes.”

“Her what?” There was even more for him to be confused by, and he sat there lost in ignorance. 

“She wanted sex with him, dumbo!” she sarcastically informed him with glee. “Which would have fine if he could actually do the deed, but he physically couldn’t because that part of his brain was seriously underdeveloped, and still is.” 

“That makes sense,” he noted to himself. “I wasn’t remotely interested in the opposite sex until after my eighties.”

“Well think how awkward that would have been for a Time Lord brain trapped inside a human body,” she pointed out. “Jonathan would never have been mature in that way by the time he died as an old man.” She then added on a sadder note, “Thanks to you we were separated, and he needed to be with me for any of that to have a chance.”

“Oh!”

Ah, he was finally seeing the light. “Oh indeed. Poor eternally frustrated Rose got rejected at every turn when she couldn’t wait to get in his pants.” Seeing his startled reaction, she added thoughtfully, “Not that I can blame her in some respects. Jonathan was, and is, gorgeous.”

The Doctor perked up a bit then as the connotations occurred in his mind. “You think I’m gorgeous,” he crowed.

“No!” she hotly denied. “With the size of your ego I’m surprised you managed to get through the door.” She then looked up to see Jonathan had come in from the bedroom, still groggy from his experience as he nervously stood there, and her whole expression softened. “Sorry, darling. Did we wake you? Why don’t you go back and have a lie down.”

Unable to stop himself, Jonathan smiled at her change of tone when she had seen him. Her blazing anger on his behalf had turned off like a tap, much more than his own had done; but he was pleased she had stuck up for him in such a way. Almost as much as he was pleased his father at hinted about deeply held feelings. “You did wake me, but it doesn’t matter because you covered all my death business. Not that I’m not furious about having to escape from that....! It’s best that I don’t say what I really think of her in front of Dad since he’s her number one fan in this universe.” 

“I’m so sorry that leaving you with Rose turned out to be such a bad decision,” the Doctor readily apologised. “It wasn’t the ending I anticipated for you.”

“I know,” Jonathan acknowledged as he made his way over to the armchair nearest his mother, draping himself over it like the petulant teenager he was. 

“What’s come over you, Spaceman? You, admitting being with Rose is bad! Blimey, are you not feeling well?” Donna mocked. When the Doctor shot her a withering look of incredulity, the last vestiges of her rage dissipated. Dying might have that effect, she reasoned. “Oh yes, I forgot for a second.”

It was time to push certain matters out into the open. Steeling himself, Jonathan managed to suggest, “Look, we’ve all learnt where we should and shouldn’t be, lately. Why don’t you tell him the rest of it, Mum?”

She blinked back at him. “Tell him what? I’ve already given him the highlights.”

“I mean about how you feel,” he stressed. “Please, Mum! Dad can’t make any decision based on guesswork.”

The Doctor looked at her expectantly, not daring to risk anything more than a faint hope that she cared for him. “What do you have to tell me, Donna?” He held his breath as he silently pleaded with her to return his love. 

Oh gawd! She was getting the faithful puppy dog eyes in stereo, and she was in danger of quickly becoming powerless to resist. “I’ve already said what I need to, about her.” 

Denial was good. Denial was her friend. 

A groan of frustration came out of Jonathan’s mouth as he almost twirled on the spot in disbelief. “I’m not referring to that daft bint in the other universe. I’m talking about you. If you won’t tell him, I will!” Turning his attention onto the Doctor, he announced, “Mum’s in love with you, has been almost from day one, but wouldn’t dream of telling anyone, especially you.”

Oh god, no! How would she ever live this down? Her mouthed opened to lie but her mortification struck her temporarily dumb.

As Donna’s cheeks grew so red they threatened to combust, the Doctor internally squealed with joy but he regained control. Enough control to quietly wonder, “Why didn’t you tell me?”

The secret was out, so there was no reason for her to deny it any longer. “Why d’you think?! D’uh! I know you don’t need another Martha situation on your hands; especially after I saw you do your demented weasel run down the street towards Rose, just before you got shot by the Dalek. If I was in any doubt about your feelings before then, I certainly wasn’t afterwards.”

“But Donna,” he argued as calmly as he could, “I made my choice at the end of that day, after weighing it all up carefully, and giving her a version of what she wanted.”

Jonathan instantly let out a pained whimper that he tried to stifle. This wasn’t the time to go down that route. He would do that later, given the chance. For now he needed his parents to bond properly and admit what they had together. 

“What are you trying to say?” Donna asked, ignoring for now Jonathan’s wince at the memory.

Leaning forward on the seat to show his sincerity and taking her hand, the Doctor finally admitted, “I chose you.” 

“And the rest,” Jonathan stage whispered his encouragement.

He could see the disbelief building in her mind, so the Doctor forged on. “Donna Noble, I know this is hard for you to believe, considering my past mistakes, or particularly because of them. You know me better than anyone else has come close to being, which covers rather a lot of ex companions when you think about. Even Romana, to a certain extent...”

“Get on with it,” Jonathan interrupted with a well-placed cough. He then whimsically smiled his apology when he saw the panic starting to show on his father’s face.

The Doctor gulped. His hands were glowing now so he didn’t have much time. It was now or never. Standing up to let the inevitable happen, he declared bluntly, “I love you, Donna Noble, and have done for a very long time but wouldn’t admit it, even to myself. But please know that this is true. I love you, so I hope you can love me in return.”

“I do!” she cried, throwing her hands over her mouth in shock. “Trust a man to say he loves you during the act.”

The Doctor chuckled, glad that this, his possible last moment with her, was filled with humour. “I’m not a man.”

“You so are! Daft Martian,” she retorted. “You’d better get this right and come back to me.”

“Always,” he promised, and burst into flames; lighting up like a beacon.

Following Donna’s plan, he shot some of the energy in her direction, aiming for her stomach after he had used the majority of it for himself, healing all his wounds before ultimately staggering backwards. Jonathan had jumped up out of the armchair and ably caught him in time to stop him landing on his bum.

“Hello Dad,” he warmly greeted him. “Nice to still see you.”

“Hello son,” the Doctor fondly returned the greeting, and then hugged him tight. “It is so good to see you too.”

After almost a minute, they both anxiously turned to look at Donna. 

She was bent double, clutching her stomach. “Ooh, that hurt a bit. Okay, make that a lot,” she gasped out. “More than I expected. I didn’t just get a bucket load of energy, I got a growth spurt.”

“What?!” The Doctor rushed forward, kneeling to place his hands on the dome that had taken over her midriff. “How much of a growth spurt do you think it is?” he speculated, feeling tightness beneath his hands.

“Oooh, quite a lot, as in ‘an instantaneous gestation period and this baby is about to born’ sort of thing.” She grimaced through another contraction. “Welcome back, by the way.” 

“Hello, my beautiful wife,” he crooned, adding a tender caress to her cheek. “And no denying that you are beautiful,” he warned.

“You’re just saying that because you got me up the duff,” she scorned. “You’ll be singing a different tune when this baby is teething and keeping you awake at three in the morning.”

“Never,” he readily vowed, and leaned forward to plant a brief kiss on her lips.

Its briefness was down to her suddenly moaning in pain and pulling away to pant through it. That sounded remarkably like things were about to happen, to the Doctor, so he moved his hands to assist the removal of her knickers. She immediately smacked his hands away.

“What the hell are you playing at?!” she accused him. “You haven’t even properly married me yet, let alone earned the right to peek where you shouldn’t.”

“Form the bond, Dad,” Jonathan chided. “What’s stopping you?”

“The thought of sharing all that pain, if I’m honest,” he openly admitted before common sense could stop him. 

Inevitably, Donna smacked his shoulder. Hard. “I need to push, so stop rabbiting and get on with it.” She then threw out a hand out for Jonathan to grab hold of. “Help me,” she begged.


	19. Chapter 19

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **A/N:** this grew more than I thought it would when I wrote it last week; hopefully you won't mind too much.

“I’m here, Mum,” Jonathan ground out as his hand was squeezed to within an inch of its life. All he wanted to do was offer comfort and support in that moment because her pained grunts were worrying him. “You’re doing wonderfully.”

If this was wonderful, what the heck would ‘awful’ be like? The contractions were coming in waves of three, and she rode another one. “Yeah, if you say so,” Donna retorted.

“Oh, we do,” the Doctor crooned at her. “Everything about you is perfect.”

You what?! She frowned in confusion and partial annoyance. “That’s a bit rich. I know you’re supposed to be saying nice stuff to me, but that’s over the top.”

“Dad,” Jonathan prompted him, adding in a head nod towards his mother. “Don’t you think there’s something else you need to do?”

“Do I? Oh yes. Donna,” he muttered, leaned closely into her personal space, placing his lips by her ear. “I have something to tell you.”

“Get on with it!” she griped. “I can’t hang onto this baby all day! And I’d really like the benefits of bonding, now that I need them.”

Grinning, the Doctor whispered his name into her ear, and then pulled back to see her reaction.

“I remember that!” she exclaimed in shock. “It used to dance about in my head, mocking me.”

“No, it was waiting for you to realise what it meant,” the Doctor corrected, “which admittedly was a bit vague for a while. I am so sorry about that.” He looked very contrite, and she could feel his self-disgust. 

“Sorry to break your angsty moment but I’m more than a bit preoccupied here,” she groaned out, “having a baby.”

“Mum, we need to remove your clothing,” Jonathan butted in. “Is that okay?” He waited for her nod of assent before carrying out his task. “Dad, on three,” he ordered as they both took hold of Donna; the Doctor to lift her up far enough whilst Jonathan wriggled her trousers down, along with her knickers. They lowered her to sit on the very edge of the sofa, to allow access to the baby.

Cautiously, Jonathan raised his eyes to see how miffed she was. Fortunately she was too far gone in her relatively pain free trance to care, so neither of them gained another smack. The Doctor rushed out to wash his hands and grab some towels from the bathroom.

“How are we doing?” he asked as he re-entered the room.

“Not long now,” Jonathan excitedly informed him and moved out of the way to let his dad take over his position on the floor by Donna’s feet.

Within seconds the baby’s head began to emerge. Lots of words of encouragement followed once the Doctor had checked for any possible cord around the baby’s neck and given the all clear for her to carry on pushing. There was a heck of a lot panting, a few words of threatening to kill whoever thought this was a good idea, closely followed by loads of groaning as Donna pushed with abandon. Two minutes later a tiny body slipped out and the Doctor was holding a brand new daughter in his hands.

“We’ve got a girl, Donna!” he cried with glee. His eyes scanned every scrap of her tiny form, awed by the process of her colour changing from sickly grey to healthy pink as her blood pumped around her tiny body. “Oh my! She’s perfect. Look how beautiful she is.”

“Give us a moment,” Donna gasped, and then forced her eyes open from when she’d clamped them tightly shut as she gave birth. “I’ve got a baby!” she burst out with.

“Well done, Mum,” Jonathan praised her, giving her cheek a sound kiss. “Wow! A real baby sister!”

“Yes, I must have been bloody mad to think this was a good idea” Donna said faintly, and visibly drooped in her seat. The whole thing had taken an enormous amount out of her; quite literally, in some respects. “But she’s worth it.”

“Don’t worry, love. Leave everything else for us to clear up,” the Doctor told her, handing over the baby for her to hold, wrapped up in towelling. “We’ll soon have you lying in bed having a healing sleep.”

~~~

“So er.... Dad…” Jonathan anxiously stood before him after they had put Donna in to the solitary bed in the single bedroom. He fidgeted about on the spot, and then shoved his hands into the front pockets of his jeans. “Busy day, being kidnapped by an Aubertide, having my stepdad killed in front of me, rescued by you and Uncle Brax, and now a brand new baby sister! I wasn’t expecting to see her for a few months yet.” He nodded his head up and down. “It’s good that you and Mum finally bonded. And no doubt you formed a familial bond with my sister...?”

“I did,” the Doctor confirmed. “What’s the problem?”

“Well. I erm…,” Jonathan stuttered, bringing up a hand to give the back of his neck a comforting rub, “that’s great for all of you. I suppose. The thing is, Uncle Brax said...” His head lowered, and he looked away, unsure of what his status was now as he tried to figure this out. “Never mind. Forget it. I’ll ask him when I see him next. He said he’d be over later. There’s plenty of time to sort something out. I’ll go make us all some tea and toast. Good job I hung onto that bottle of milk, eh?”

Shooting his father a self-conscious smile, he made to dash off. But the Doctor caught hold of his arm, stopping his exit. “Why can’t you hear Brax?” he queried. “You should be able to contact him in your head. Is there something wrong with you?” 

To his surprise, the boy became even more agitated; swaying on his ankles, rocking himself. “Obviously, but that’s fine. It’s all fine. As long as Mum is okay, that’s all that matters. Or she will be once she gets over Shaun’s death and today.”

“I couldn’t save him. I’m sorry,” the Doctor immediately apologised. “You were right to like him.”

“He was a really good bloke,” Jonathan stated, wiping absently at his eyes. “He adored Mum, enough to put up with all her nonsense.”

“Nonsense?” The Doctor frowned.

“Oh, you know,” Jonathan airily stated. “No hands where they weren’t allowed; no pre-marital sex. Nothing beyond a kiss and a cuddle, even before I appeared on the scene.”

As much as he hated the thought of another man having a prominent position in Donna’s life, the norm was that she would have been having a sexual relationship with her fiancé. “Why didn’t t she let him touch her?” the Doctor had to ask. 

“Why d’you think? D’uh!” Jonathan half mocked. “She was waiting for you. Until then, she was making do. That’s how Gramps described it.”

“Yes, I know,” the Doctor faintly answered, remembering sitting in that café with Wilf. 

“Anyway, Mum’s stirring so I’d better get this tea and toast on the go. My sister will want feeding,” Jonathan proclaimed. “Then I’ll phone Nan to let her know.... Unless you want to be the one to tell her?”

“No. No, that’s fine. You tell her,” the Doctor easily decided. “She’ll take the news better from you.”

Unable to resist laughing at the thought of the so-called Oncoming Storm being frightened by Sylvia Noble, Jonathan went off to carry out his task in the kitchen. The Doctor went to collect a dining chair from the lounge, positioned it by the bed, and sat down to watch his new family in awe.

~~~

Taking a deep breath for courage, he dialled the number. “Hello Nan. Oh, you heard about that alien business? What are they saying on the news? I’ll put the telly on in a minute. Mum’s a bit shaken up. Yes, she knows Shaun was one of the victims. She’s asleep at the moment. Dad gave her a sedative... It’s terrible but not all aliens are murderers. Thanks, I know you didn’t mean me! Uncle Adam no doubt told their families. Neither Jerry nor Shaun deserves that. Well... I was there. I’m okay, honest I am. If it weren’t for Shaun, I wouldn’t have been. He stopped that Aubertide from killing me too... Dad was involved but only at the end when they all came to rescue me. It was him, Mum and Uncle Adam. She was a bit numb for a while, and then... That’s the main reason I wanted to phone you. Mum went into premature labour. Yes, that’s what I said. She had no idea she was pregnant until today. Nan, she didn’t! Because if she did know then I would have known too, that’s why! It’s no good you going off on one, it won’t stop it being true. You became a grandmother again today. Well, I’m sorry you weren’t prepared both times but that’s hardly my fault. Nan, please don’t say that about Dad! Look, I’m going to have to go, and I’ll see you tomorrow. Bye then. Bye.” Jonathan then hastily put the phone down.

“I take it she didn’t take the news well,” the Doctor observed, passing the doorway in order to return his used cup and plate.

“You could say that.” Jonathan blew out his cheeks in exasperation. “For someone who claims she always wanted to be a grandmother, she certainly hates being told she has a new grandchild. As Mum says, she’ll come round; eventually.”

The phone then rang, startling them both.

“Don’t worry, I’ll take it,” the Doctor consoled Jonathan. After picking the phone up and answering it, he listened with mixed emotions. “Hello Wilf. Yes, it’s true. Donna went into labour and gave birth unexpectedly an hour ago. No, none of us knew before it happened. ‘Shock’ does not begin to describe it. Mother and daughter are doing fine.” He held the phone away from his ear for a few seconds as a loud joyous shriek could be heard. “Definitely a girl. No, no name has been chosen yet. Thanks. I will pass on your congratulations. See you tomorrow. Bye!”

“I take it that was the Child Support Agency after you again,” Jonathan risked joking, and gave the Doctor a playful shove. “Any names that you fancy?”

The grinning Doctor immediately sobered. “Why aren’t you aware of my possible choices?”

“Oh, I dunno. Perhaps because I’m not you, and don’t think like you anymore,” Jonathan reasoned. “I know Mum’s list, for what it’s worth,” he hastily added when he noticed the panicked concern on his father’s face.

“That isn’t it,” the Doctor insisted, and peered into his son’s eyes. “You should be aware of a great deal more than that. Why aren’t you?” 

Surely he couldn’t be so dense?! Finally, Jonathan’s patience snapped, and he blurted out, “Why aren’t I? Maybe because I am no longer connected to you in any way whatsoever? Since I died I have only had Mum in my head. I lost complete contact with both of you when the TARDIS dematerialised on that freezing cold Norwegian beach, abandoning me there. I got to go through that horrific silence twice, thanks to you; once via you and once all for myself.” Seeing the guilt and grief etched on his father’s face halted any further tirade. He couldn’t do that to him; and he averted his gaze. “Look, it doesn’t matter that you’d rather not form a familial bond with me. I’ve got Mum, and she is more than enough. And... and... why would you want to? I mean, not even Jenny got it, and she was wanted far more than I ever was which, when you think about it, isn’t saying much. You had a real choice with my new sister,” he blustered, not giving the Doctor a chance to retaliate. “So it’s fine that I have no idea what you are thinking. It’s good to be surprised, and I won’t get any stray randy thoughts when Mum is feeling okay and you two...” He gulped down the rest, and peeped into the bedroom to distract himself. What he saw gave him concern. “Is it me, but either the baby has got bigger or Mum has shrunk.”

“Of course she hasn’t...,” the Doctor began to deny, and then he too noticed the size difference. “The baby has grown,” he said in shocked tones. “She can’t have done.” Out came the sonic screwdriver, and he scanned his daughter where she lay next to her mother, on a pillow.

“Stop bleeping me!” Donna ordered him as she woke up properly. “What is wrong with her?” she instantly fretted, sitting up.

The Doctor slowly lowered his sonic. “The regeneration energy didn’t only accelerate the pregnancy, it’s also affecting her growth rate.”

“By how much?” Donna agitatedly wondered. “Are we talking days, weeks, months or, god forbid, years here?”

“I don’t know yet for certain, but it could be years,” he admitted. “I predict that it won’t slow down to normal until she has reached the physical age of a two year old, at the very least.”

“Oh my God!” Donna cried. “I didn’t allow for that in my calculations.” She then went extremely sheepish. “That explains the constant queasiness too.”

“Mum, you didn’t!” Jonathan gasped out.

“Oops!” she replied.

“Oops?” The Doctor stared at her in disbelief. “Does that mean what I think it means.”


	20. Chapter 20

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **A/N:** you can't really tell my inspiration came for this during a migraine... much. Angst really loved me last week.

Donna nodded guiltily at her husband’s question. “I’m so sorry; I didn’t mean to. My next pregnancy wasn’t supposed to happen yet, but you see I’m more than a little bit new at coping with all this Time Lord super powers stuff. It won’t happen again; promise.”

“Blimey, you don’t do things by halves, do you!” the Doctor stammered in awe. “In under twenty four hours you’ve saved my life, given me back my son, we’ve had a daughter and now we have a third child on the way.”

“Plus a wife,” Jonathan added with a cough; quietly overjoyed that he had come high on his father’s list. “I hope you’ve got a cover story worked out for all this.”

The Doctor had been bent to kiss Donna after the wife reference, but the cover story bit stopped him in his tracks. “Why would I need a cover story?”

“Because we’ve been on the television, supposedly planning my wedding.” Donna almost wailed, “Poor Shaun.”

“Can’t be baby blues,” Jonathan commented, grabbing some tissues to hand to his mother. When she indignantly glared at him, he added, “I know you are mourning him too. He was my friend.”

Moving closer, into her outstretched arms, he let her sob all over him.

~~~

Baby supplies were desperately needed, so they attempted to leave the flat. ‘Attempt’ being the operative word. Opening the front door, there was a waiting gaggle of noisy reporters shoving microphones in their direction. Loads of questions rang out, tumbling over themselves as they pressed nearer.

“Donna! How do you feel about your fiancé being killed by an alien?”

“What will you do now about the wedding?”

“When did you find out about your fiancé’s death?”

“Is this the man you were seen cheating on your fiancé with?”

“Over here, Donna! Jonathan!” A flashbulb went off.

Stepping forward, the Doctor held up his hand and took over. They all quietened at his stern expression. The Oncoming Storm was riled. “This is not the time to ask such questions. Donna has had an emotional and stressful time in the last 24 hours.”

At that point a thin angry cry rang out from a tightly wrapped bundle in Donna’s arms.

“Is that a baby?” 

“Is that your baby, Donna?”

Reluctantly, the Doctor admitted, “Yes, Donna gave birth.”

That started a fresh barrage of questions.

“Did Shaun know?”

“Is that the reason you applied to be on TV?”

“Was Shaun the father?”

“Have you any tips for our readers on how to hide your pregnancy?”

“Do you mind having a new sibling, Jonathan?”

On and on the questions went. Donna handed the tiny bundle to Jonathan and then stepped up next to the Doctor. “Look,” she began, speaking loudly with authority to the press representatives, “I didn’t even know I was pregnant when I suddenly gave birth. It’s been a _huge_ surprise for us all. As for my husband, we will issue a statement later this afternoon. So pretend you are decent human beings for once and bugger off and leave us alone for five minutes!”

The Time Family then stepped back inside Donna’s flat and firmly shut the door.

“Well, that went well. You would think hardly anyone noticed we’ve just suffered life and death,” Donna sarcastically commented. Needing the comfort, she reached out to take the baby from Jonathan’s arms, readily accepting his kiss on the cheek.

“Don’t worry, Mum. It’s just future old news,” he consoled her. “Go sit down and I’ll make us a cup of tea.”

“That’d be lovely, thanks darling,” she replied.

The comfort the Doctor instantly offered was more than welcome, and she almost melted into his arms. “Come on; let’s sit down for a minute, then I’ll sneak out to get the TARDIS and the things you need.” He guided her onto the softness of the settee, and proceeded to place extra cushions around her. “Is that comfortable enough?” he anxiously wondered.

As she settled herself down, she wondered how long this would last.

~~~

“Are you sure you want to go with this press statement?” Brax sought to clarify as he read through the paper Donna had written out, expertly manoeuvring it out of his new baby niece’s reach as she laid proudly on his lap; delighting in her responses. She had taken to him immediately and easily formed a familial bond with him.

“It seems to be the most logical version, in light of her rapid arrival and growth,” the Doctor reasoned. “Yes, I think it best that we say I had sole custody of her from the night of the planets in the sky. Many people lost spouses and family thanks to the Daleks.”

Brax eyed him over the top of the paper. “So you kept your baby daughter but gave away your son?”

“I was grief stricken,” the Doctor argued. “How was I to cope with a son as well as a baby while my wife was presumed dead?”

“Most would say the teenage son was easier to look after than a newborn,” Brax considered.

The Doctor deliberated this. “Well… He could have been trouble.”

“What?!” Jonathan asked incredulously when his father thoughtfully looked at him. “Am I supposed to be a teenage tearaway now? No, I won’t have it. I’ve agreed before now to say I’d gone to live with my girlfriend, but I refuse to be painted as a yobbo!” 

“You _did_ go to live with your girlfriend,” the Doctor pointed out. “You could have stayed there.”

“I could also have stayed dead after being shot at, on her order, three times,” Jonathan raged back, startling the baby. 

Brax placed a finger against her forehead, soothing her instantly. “Shh, my sweet.” 

Having seen this, Jonathan then continued to berate his father, “I am so sorry that I inconvenienced you. I’ll try and go back so that she can finish the job properly, shall I? She’d be no happier to see me, so perhaps I should swap places and give her what she really wanted!”

In the angry silence that followed, Brax carefully asked, “What did the human female really want?”

“She wanted Dad, Uncle Brax,” Jonathan informed him. “Not half-human inferior me, but the real man she loved instead.”

A disgusted frown appeared on Brax's face. "Surely you didn’t really consider a lower species as a mate, Thete? I know Donna was once human but you never even allowed the relationship until she transformed."

Fury gripped the Doctor. “You don’t understand about the relationship I had with Rose,” he gritted out. “She was very special.”

Jonathan had had enough. “In what way?! Was it the fact she was barely above Jenny’s age, the blonde hair, the thickly applied makeup, or the fact the war seems to have turned you into a paedophile predator, which made her so special for you? Huh?” he raged. “Or was it her jealous possessiveness, her need to break the laws of time, or your need to be worshipped by an attractive teenage girl? Do tell, because I’d love to know why it was okay for you to hand me over to her like a goldfish won at the fun fair!”

“That wasn’t the case!”

“Jonathan, that’s enough,” a calm female voice from behind warned him.

He swivelled on the spot and pleaded with her. “But, Mum! You know what I went through. Why are you sticking up for him?”

Donna moved nearer and took his hand in support, knowing he was lashing out because he rightly felt betrayed. “No-one can help who they fall in love with. Your dad isn’t to blame for the fact that you loved Rose enough to want to stay with her at first, and he isn’t to blame for the way she stalked us through various universes. It was her choice to rip apart the TARDIS, and it was her decision to get me to kill myself so that she could get back to him. Difficult situations need difficult choices, as you know; but at least your dad made a decision.”

“How can you stand there and defend him wiping your memory and separating us like that?” Jonathan cried, the tears welling up in his eyes, and seeing similar tears threatening to spill out through his mother’s eyelashes.

“Because I _have_ to accept it happened. What else can I do other than live with it? But we changed the result as soon as we could, together, me and you,” she wetly replied. “As for your dad, I’m not his first choice. Never have been and never will be. He is making do, like I did.”

Feeling the need to refute that statement, the Doctor stammered, “Donna, I...”

“Don’t try and deny it; please don’t,” she begged him, holding back more tears. “You are a man of honour, and I respect that you are a gentleman. You even went as far as to form a bond with me; but you can’t include my son. For some reason he still isn’t good enough for you and that breaks my hearts, let alone his. Do you really think him and Brax aren’t aware that you can’t truly accept him as your own son?”

“It’s complicated,” he defended himself.

“Yes, it is,” she agreed. “So you’ll understand perfectly if I have to choose him and let you go. I’m not breaking our bond but setting you free from us inferior ‘echoes’; that’s how you described us instant Gallifreyans once before. Anyway, without us you can get yourself another pretty young thing to travel about the universe with, bossing them about, AND you can go back to visit your precious Rose somewhere in her timeline. There’s a red bike to be delivered at some point, if memory serves me correctly.”

The Doctor stood stunned, his breath rasping in and out thanks to the heavy weight that seemed to press down on his chest. “Why are you doing this to me?”

“So that you can have it all,” she retorted. “Isn’t that great?”

In a hurt voice, he murmured, “But you know how I feel about you.”

“I do,” she sadly admitted. “And for a few moments I was stupid enough to mistake it for something else. Martha was right to warn me.”

He flinched as though physically struck. “What’s Martha got to do with us?”

“I’m not even going to grace that with an answer,” she replied, picking up the baby from Brax. “I’m going to change this one into fresh clothes then go to visit my mum to show her off. You’re welcome to come with us or, failing that, visit us here any time you’re in this part of the galaxy.”

As she strode out of the room, closely followed by Jonathan, Brax demanded of his brother, _What are you playing at, Thete? Go after her! Stop this nonsense in its tracks._ But to Brax’s horror, he didn’t do that at all, but entered his TARDIS and dematerialised. 

“He’s gone, hasn’t he?” Donna questioned Brax when he appeared seconds later in her bedroom doorway. She efficiently removed the baby’s nappy and Jonathan handed her the items to clean up the mess.

“Yes. Donna, I want you to know that I am still here for you all,” Brax proclaimed.

She gave him a wry smile. “Thanks, I appreciate that. How did the Aubertide announcement go?”

In the circumstances, he allowed the chance of subject. “As well as can be expected. Three people died this time because of that creature,” he stated glumly. “The news of its death was welcomed by the press. Your part in the television programme will desist immediately. The channel executives are overjoyed with the publicity this had brought, but you yourself will suffer from some unwanted interest for a while longer.”

“I expected as much,” she admitted as the last popper was done up on the Babygro her daughter wore. They were already using the six to nine month size. “The appearance of madam here will no doubt set even more tongues wagging.”

That wasn’t all that would cause her problems, Brax remembered. “I should also warn you that Thete deleting that girl’s photos yesterday didn’t stop her reporting the incident to all and sundry.”

Bugger! “You’d think the sonic screwdriver would have a flashy setting on it by now like they had in Men In Black,” she reasoned, much to the two males’ amusement. 

Jonathan laughed. “We desperately need to work on that. I mean.... **_I_** need to put it high on my list of apps on the one I make myself.”

It was with regret that Brax placed a hand on Jonathan’s shoulder in consolation, wishing he could have used a familial bond to do so. That option had suddenly become less available, and he needed to express his high regard for his nephew. “Why don’t you come and construct one in my own personal workshop? I did promise you would be able to visit there once your part in my production ended.”

“Thank you, Uncle Brax!” Jonathan beamed at him; a smile that almost melted his hearts.

~~~


	21. Chapter 21

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **A/N:** I have [Duchess67](https://www.fanfiction.net/u/627929/) to thank for reminding me of a certain problem here.

“Where is she?” Sylvia cried out with joy when she later greeted Donna and Jonathan when she appeared on the doorstep to the flat. “Where’s my granddaughter?” Her eyes darted everywhere from the small hallway. Then she caught sight of the baby lying on the settee, propped up between plumped up cushions and covered by Jonathan’s sweatshirt. “There she is! Oh my! She’s a lot bigger than I was expecting. Are you sure you only gave birth last night? I’d have mistaken her for being a few months old.”

“About that, Mum,” Donna reluctantly noted, shutting the front door, “can we go inside and discuss it? I’ve already had to dodge some newspaper reporters.”

A very puzzled Sylvia led them into the lounge. “Go on then, explain, while I get a better look at her,” she suggested, expertly lifting up the baby. “Look how big you are! Aren’t you gorgeous? Yes, you are, “she crooned to her granddaughter. “You look just like your big brother. Have you got a name yet?”

“We’ve decided on ‘Louise’,” Donna supplied as she and Jonathan bustled about in the kitchen, making the tea and letting Sylvia have her moment. “Louise Eileen Noble.”

“Aw, that’s lovely. Your grandfather will be pleased,” Sylvia commented.

“Where is he?” Donna asked as she reappeared in the lounge, hovering in the doorway. “I thought he would have come with you.”

“To be honest, I’m surprised I’ve beaten him here,” Sylvia admitted, keeping her attention on her granddaughter. “He was just popping up to the allotment. Must have got chatting with someone.” 

“I wonder who,” Donna said meaningfully as Jonathan came in with cups of fresh tea. _Do you think that’s where he went?_

 _Who knows?_ Jonathan considered with a mental shrug. “Here you go, Nan,” he stated, placing a cup near her elbow. “I’ll show you some of the photos I’ve taken of Louise, in a minute. What do you think of her?”

Sylvia didn’t need to think about it much. “She’s beautiful. And so like you! She even has your eyes. I thought they would have been brown.” She then turned to Donna. “What was it you were going to tell me that’s put you so on edge? Is that Doctor?”

“Well…” Donna couldn’t decide what to own up to. “You could say that.” And she sat herself down near her mother. “The thing is, Louise is growing at a faster rate than we expected, thanks to the Doctor’s regenerative energy. He reckons she’ll look like a two year old before it actually slows down to normal pace.”

“Trust him!” Sylvia spat out. “He always spoils things.”

“Nan!” an indignant Jonathan chided. “It’s the same way I was formed, remember, so it’s not all bad.”

“Very true,” she fondly agreed, giving his knee a pat. “I wouldn’t do without you now; and more importantly, neither would your mother. So where is he, this instant husband of yours, Donna? I hope he’s making himself useful somewhere for once.”

“Well… erm…”

“We don’t know, Nan,” Jonathan confessed. “There was a bit of an argument, and he stormed out.”

 _What did you tell her that for?! I’ll never hear the end of it now!_ Donna instantly complained.

“I see,” Sylvia sneered. “Just as I thought he would, he upped and left as soon as possible.” She then turned her beady eye onto Donna. “You’re not defending him for a change. What’s come over you? Found out he’s got another woman?”

Her eyes widened when Donna shifted uncomfortably. “I’m not sure,” she tearfully stated. “I broke things off with him.”

“Why?!” Sylvia demanded to know. “Did he hurt you?”

“He erm,” Donna began to say, and cuddled Jonathan close when he crawled over to her to offer support. “He was a bit off with Jonathan, so I made it clear that if I had to choose between the two of them, there was no competition, my son comes first.”

“Oh Donna,” Sylvia instantly sympathised. “That’ll be your hormones making you like that. Perhaps you’ll see things differently in a couple of days. It’ll be alright; we’ll make it all okay.”

“Thanks, Mum,” Donna wetly replied in gratitude.

She couldn’t help smiling when Sylvia burst out with, “And if that sulky husband of yours doesn’t get his arse in gear and back by your side, I shall do more than have words with him. He’ll feel the back of my hand again!”

“I believe you would, Nan,” Jonathan proudly commented. 

Sylvia smirked back at him, huffing a laugh. “Nobody upsets my daughter and leaves my grandchildren fatherless. Now back to this little one. Do you want me to pick her up some bits and pieces? You’ll need more clothes if she is going to keep growing at the rate you reckon.”

“Please!” Donna happily changed the subject.

The rest of the visit was spent fawning over the baby, making lists, and actively avoiding the touchy subject of the Doctor.

~~~

The Doctor had stormed into the TARDIS, intent on doing something to prove to Donna that his feelings were rational and sincere; but he didn’t know what. After pouting for a few seconds, he hit upon an idea, remembering a confession Donna had once made to him as they lay in some dark, dank dungeon. He couldn’t say which one exactly because there had been a few to choose from over the years. All his attention had been on his Donna at the time. And yes, he had thought of her in that way, despite her claiming otherwise, after the nights spent together mourning Jenny.

The mental mention of Jenny made his hearts clench in regret. All that pain, all that longing, had happened despite him trying to deny his attachment to her. What did that say about Jonathan? He had tried so hard to push him away, to the point of giving him to Rose. Jonathan was right; he had been handed over like a goldfish prize at the fun fair. There had been no true regard for the lad’s feelings on the matter. It had been a “you can’t have me so have him instead since he’s almost me” sort of thing. Would the boy have fought his way back into this universe if he had been a fully-fledged adult that could satisfy Rose’s demands? And didn’t that thought leave a bitter taste in the mouth; as if he were a mail order bride or something. 

It was no good; the Doctor had to face the truth. All he had done since Jonathan had emerged within the TARDIS was dismiss him unless it meant he could get nearer to Donna. She alone truly saw the metacrisis duplicate as a living breathing joint offspring of theirs. In fact, she absolutely idolised him. Was that the real crux of the matter? Was he, a Time Lord, jealous of his own flesh and blood? You hear tales of fathers being jealous of new babies, but that only applied to human males. Didn’t it? 

As his thoughts reached this crescendo, the TARDIS landed with a gentle thump. “Here goes,” the Doctor said to her, adding in a soft caress to his console, and then headed down the ramp towards the doors.

It was nearing dusk outside. The end to a long sultry summer’s day in busy Hammersmith, London. Judging by the warmth of the air and the luminosity of the sun, it had been a scorcher. But the people milling around him were filled with anticipation as they stood in front of a large white coach. Emblazoned along the side were the words: National Express.

He hardly took any notice of that. Instead his eyes were seeking something else entirely. Something that was a particular someone. It took only seconds to recognise her rich auburn hair in amongst all the people waiting to board the coach. If only the coach driver had spotted her rather than be distracted by some muppet trying to board with the wrong destination in mind. It took a while to describe where the passenger had to go and find the correct coach, and then the rest of the passengers could board it. 

Using the psychic paper to flash two tickets at the driver, showing that the stowaway was with him, the Doctor quickly made his way down the coach and towards the seat where she was scrunched up against the window. He soon found her, and swung his body nimbly into the seat beside her as the rest of the seats filled up.

She barely looked up at him as she remained huddled, clutching a small backpack on her lap, and her eyes fixed on the boring scenery outside. It would take him a while to gain her confidence enough to speak to him, but he had plenty of time. Almost twelve hours’ worth of time to persuade her to trust him if he had to last the whole journey. With a bit of luck he wouldn’t have to make it passed Victoria Coach Station. 

It had been growing increasingly dark by the time her eyes flickered towards him without reserve, and he smiled back with encouragement. 

Suddenly a woman across the aisle leaned nearer and tapped him on the arm. “Excuse me, but your little girl has dropped her purse,” the woman kindly warned. 

“Thank you very much,” the Doctor answered her, using a Glaswegian accent. And then bent down to retrieve the article. “Here ye go, sweetheart,” he said to the small girl sitting next to him as he handed it back. “Be careful not to lose it again.”

“Thank you,” she politely responded in her own thick London accent. Her mother had drummed into her not to talk to strangers, but this man seemed to be extremely trustworthy to her young senses. The purse was hastily stuffed into her backpack. 

“That lady thinks you’re my daughter,” he whispered conspiratorially, adding in a laugh. 

“Have you got a daughter?” she asked before she could stop herself.

He nodded enthusiastically. “I’m going to go and see her later. She’s tiny, only born yesterday. She is adorable.”

“Oh.” The girl didn’t know what to say to that. “Have you got a little girl I could play with?”

This time he shook his head. “No, but I’ve got a son. You’d love him. His name’s Jonathan.”

“I don’t like boys,” she declared, suddenly looking very stern. 

“Why’s that?” he wondered. “Has one hurt you?”

She huffed, and reluctantly puffed out, “Yes.” When the man seemed sympathetic, she added, “Gary Smith and Carl Watkins keep making fun of me; and yesterday Gary hit with his ruler, so I punched him.”

It meant holding back a satisfied grin, but the Doctor asked, “Did you get into trouble for that?”

Pouting and sitting back in her seat with her arms firmly folded, she supplied, “I was sent to the headmistress’s office. I told her they keep calling me horrible names and being mean, but all she did was get Mum to come up the school.”

“Oh dear!” he sympathised.

“Mum went off at me about it, I’m a bad tempered menace, said we can’t have a holiday now ‘cause there ain’t no money, and I’ll have to be sa’isfied with staying in London. Well, I don’t want to stay where Gary and Carl are, so I came here,” she continued. “I ain’t going back!”

“I don’t blame you,” he replied in friendly, Scottish tones. “Who needs horrible people like that? My name is John, by the way. What’s yours?”

“Donna,” she almost spat out, furrowing her brow in anger. “I don’t like it.”

“I think it is a lovely name,” he enthused. “My wife is called Donna.”

“She is?” she queried in disbelief.

He found himself nodding again. “My beautiful Donna, and I can’t wait to get home to her. She has gorgeous ginger hair, just like you have too. Who would have thought?”

“Nobody likes ginger hair,” young Donna mumbled. “I wish I didn’t have it.”

“No, no, no, no, you shouldn’t feel that way about it. Your hair is your defining feature; it’s part of what makes you, well… you,” he encouraged. “I’ve always wanted to be ginger. Anyone who doesn’t like your hair isn’t worth knowing.”

“That’s what Gramps says.”

“And Gramps is perfectly right. He is a very wise man.”

She smiled more openly then, pleased with the compliment from this nice stranger. He made her feel loads better without much effort. So when he asked more questions about her Gramps, she happily chatted on. In next to no time he found out that the family were suffering financially because of some union work to rule, meaning that her dad was on a three day week, and luxuries like holidays away somewhere were out of the question for the time being. 

It had been dark outside for over an hour when her eyelids started to flutter shut and her words slowed down. 

“Are you tired?” he kindly asked, even though the answer was obvious. “Why don’t you lean against me and sleep? Here…” He took off his coat and wrapped it around her like a blanket. “That should keep you warm. You look all happy and snuggly like a cute little rat.” The reference was irresistible for him.

“I’m not a rat,” she murmured sleepily, but it didn’t stop her cuddling his arm and dozing off.


	22. Chapter 22

As soon as young Donna was sound asleep, the Doctor took the chance to tightly hug her, adding a loving kiss to her forehead. “Happy dreams, my love,” he whispered, aware of the woman across the aisle eyeing him with interest. 

“Aw, look at her,” the woman commented with fondness. “All tuckered out. You must be very proud of her.”

“Oh I am,” he happily agreed. “She amazes me all the time with her brilliance.”

Feeling that his praise was a bit overdone but natural for a parent, the woman asked him several questions about his children before she left him be. One thing the woman good-naturedly commented stuck in his mind: “You sound a little bit jealous of your son.”

Was he that obvious? As he sat there hugging the younger version of his wife, keeping her safe from any possible harm, he couldn’t help wondering about his son and all the moments he had so far missed out on. Hearing the woman’s reflected praise had made him consider his son’s achievements in a whole different light. In particular, she had been very impressed that his son had helped delivery his baby daughter, saying that most teenage boys would have run a mile rather than help in any situation. 

They were still in Victoria. Good. Standing up, the Doctor kept a tight hold on Donna and walked back down the aisle towards the front of the coach. “We’ve changed our mind, we won’t be going to Glasgow with you tonight,” he announced to the driver. “My wife needs me urgently.”

With a whoosh, the coach door was opened and they began their trek back to the TARDIS where she sat patiently waiting.

A phone call later to the Noble household, pretending to be the Strathclyde police, was easily made, and then the Doctor and the sleeping form he held tightly onto jumped forward in time so that he could safely deliver his precious cargo home; all in the guise of Detective Inspector John Smith. It would be the one time Sylvia Noble would ever cry with happy tears at the sight of him.

Having handed Donna over, making a statement about the kind gentleman who had reported sighting their daughter travelling on her own, he made his way back to the present day, keen to make amends in other ways.

~~~

Exiting their kitchen later, it was obvious Donna and Jonathan had a particular visitor, once you ignored the entrance sound, of course; because a certain blue box filled the entrance to the lounge. The Doctor stepped out of the TARDIS and walked immediately up to Jonathan, placing his hands upon the shocked boy’s contact points.

“I am so sorry, my son, for not doing what was right,” he murmured, sending soothing vibes to him. _I’ve been a foolish old man,_ he pushed at him. _Can you ever forgive me?_ And with that he opened a familial bond that made Jonathan gasp with wonder to experience such a thing properly for himself again. 

_Dad!_ he sighed, overwhelmed with emotion. It didn’t matter that he had been denied this; all he cared about was the fact that his father was prepared to take this step.

Receiving the feedback that offered forgiveness and understanding he craved, the Doctor released Jonathan to turn towards Donna standing in wary observation, knowing and seeing that something within her personal timeline had altered. Nothing too serious, but it made his task easier.

“Where have you been?” she stammered out as the sensations within her head changed key. There was something about him that was both excited and anxious. “Did you deliver the bike?”

“No, that’s for somebody else to do. I went to visit someone entirely different. Someone much more special to me in order to bring you back this,” he said as he brought a hand out from within his trouser pocket. On his outstretched palm lay a small toy white bear clad in yellow trousers, a red jumper, little white shoes and a scarf that matched the trousers.

Her eyes widened as she recognised it. “That’s my Rupert the Bear! You found Rupert!” she wheezed out as sentimental tears threatened, and she threw her hands over her mouth to stop a cry of long forgotten pain. “I lost him years ago.”

“He’d fallen out of your backpack,” the Doctor explained. “I found him lying on the seat of the coach to Strathclyde. I knew how much he meant to you, how you still miss him, so I put him in my pocket for safekeeping.”

“But why? You went all that way just for me. Well, that’s just…,” she spluttered, battling to get her words out. Then realisation struck. “Hang on. That was you? The man on the coach was you? Oh my God! I don’t know what to say,” she admitted before her resolve broke, and she launched herself at him, hugging him tight. “Thank you. I still don’t understand why you did this.”

“Because I love you and only you,” he whispered into her ear, wrapping himself around her, clinging on desperately. “You are my life, my light, my anchor. I want to always keep you safe. Plus, I’ve worked it out why I’ve been so dense and tetchy.”

“Oh really?” This she had to hear.

“The pregnancy.”

She instantly scowled. “Now you’re just taking the p-”

“I’m not!” he hastily interrupted her. “And not in front of the baby.”

“Sod the baby,” she fumed. “He’ll hear a lot worse than that if you don’t tell us why me being pregnant has caused you to be such a prat.”

“Okay, it wasn’t only your pregnancy hormones affecting me,” he quietly admitted. “As that friend of yours once said, I have more issues than a magazine; and while I try not to show my jealousy, I’ve been thwarted by Jonathan twice now, by taking the woman I love.”

“How can he take me, you daft Martian,” she argued. “I’m his mother; I’m supposed to love him unconditionally.”

“Yes, well, that’s maybe,” he stuttered, “but have you seen yourself with him? It pushes out everyone else when you’re supposed to…”

“Supposed to what?” she mouthed, longing to hear his reply.

He edged even nearer. “Suppose to find room for me,” he slowly said in a whisper. “Please give me a chance to start again, to make it up to you, to show my love. I can’t live without you.” _I love you so much!_ he practically sobbed.

It took no effort for her to meet his lips, and slide her fingers into his hair, caressing his scalp, holding him equally close as their gentle kiss steadily grew through soft presses and careful touches. Warmth became passion, and soon they were clinging to each frantically, sharing their newfound joy.

When it became frenetic and noisy, with moans and passionate mewls, Jonathan could stand it no longer. Throwing up his hands, he exclaimed, “Ew! Do you have to? Put your bloody shields up! I don’t want to hear or feel any of your sexy thoughts, thank you very much.” 

But despite his words he was very pleased when his father grinned disarmingly at him and his mother looked coy, before the pair of them sidled into the bedroom and quietly but firmly shut the door. Yes, it was best that he was not privy to all that followed. The sound of creaky furniture was bad enough. Still, it gave him a chance to make faces at his baby sister Louise as she cooed and smiled at him. Things were finally coming together in his life. No pun intended.

~~~

The wind picked up as Jonathan looked across the lush green landscape of the park, ruffling his hair without dislodging the grin on his face. He had to admit that he was happy as he sat there on the middle swing of a set of three, pushing his Converses against the thick rubber matting beneath his feet so that he moved it only a metre backwards and then forwards.

The small distance was because of his passenger. There was an ecstatic giggle from where his precious little sister had climbed up to kneel on his lap, her shoes digging him in the knees as she gazed up at him with adoration.

“Again, Joffanon!” the toddler squealed with delight, right in his face. “Again!” Her podgy hands grasped him around the neck so that she could hang on and place a large slobbery kiss on his cheek.

He adored her in return, and would do anything within his power to please her. He’d give her the moon if he could, except the moon wasn’t up for grabs and the Doctor had already taken her there a short while beforehand. She’d had fun bouncing around on it; proving to herself that there wasn’t a man within it. Yes... It was best that she didn’t know what was really under the surface yet.

“Just one more go, Looby Lou, and then we have to go back to Nan’s house,” he warned. “It looks like one of those annoying photographers has found us.”

In the distance he could see a photographer gradually stalking a pathway through the undergrowth towards them. At least it was only one this time, and Uncle Brax had done his hardest to quash the rumours about Donna’s implied cheating behaviour. A story about the family being all pulled apart by the Daleks, and assumptions that others were dead, had been added in to the previous mix where Donna had lost years’ worth of memories thanks to her injuries. Now she had been given back her former husband; a husband who had suffered endlessly through grief for her. Alongside this reunion came her son and young daughter, with Shaun as an unfortunate victim along the way.

They had all attended Shaun’s funeral together. It had seemed the right thing to do despite all the press interest. Poor Jerry could only have a memorial in his name. It had all been so sad.

But every happy moment is tinged with sadness, Jonathan reminded himself; and vice versa. All his unhappy moments in the alternate universe had all contained eternal hope that he would be able to get back to his mother and change his circumstances. His next major decision in life was coming up. Should he travel with his father, should he stay where Uncle Brax could keep an eye on him, or should he try and branch out on his own?

He was brought out of his thoughts by Louise prodding him on the nose. “Wake up, Joffanon!”

“What is it, Lou?” he wondered, and gave her a squeezy hug. He could feel her concern and confusion through their connection. 

Gently, he placed her on the ground in front of him and the swing he sat on, in order to do up her laces. He tutted at her footwear; exactly matching his Converses, and badly scuffed because she had to do everything he did even if she wasn’t quite capable of it yet. With expert ease he straightened her clothing, taking out the wrinkles in her woolly tights. “There we go; all gorgeous again. Shall we have a race to Nanny’s house?” he proposed.

Her answer was a mischievous gleam in her eye and her head tilted to the side. Then she yelled out the words, “Ready. Steady. Go!” 

Immediately she took off at a fast rate of knots, away from him and along the path they had taken. Giggles rang out as she turned her head to double check he was following. 

“Oh no! I can’t keep up,” he cried as he pretended to fail to catch her, when in fact he was scanning the whole area for any possible threat. 

No doubt the photographer had snapped a few shots of him with his sister, but he wasn’t worried about it. Uncle Brax could be depended upon to make sure only sanctioned photos that didn’t display Louise’s face would be used.

Suddenly Louise halted on the spot and jumped up and down in excitement. Her hands were held out to beckon him forward, wiggling her fingers as she did so. “Joffanon, Joffanon, hurry! The new baby bruvver is coming!”

“I know,” he cheerily acknowledged, taking hold of her hand to help guide her more quickly along. One day she would get his name right, and no doubt his new brother would fail to pronounce it correctly instead. “Who do you think he’ll look like, me or you?”

Louise lifted her similar-coloured eyes to regard him, and shook the cute curls on her head as she did so. He loved the way her hair was all wavy, unlike his own; but at least they shared the same shade of gingery brown. “You’re silly!” she declared. “He’ll be all little.”

“Very true,” Jonathan agreed. “Shall I carry you so that we can get there even quicker?”

“Can I have a piggy back?” she asked in kind, unsure if he would allow it.

“Oh, alright then,” he pretended to huff, and bent down for her to climb onto his back. “Hold on tight, but not too tight, remember.”

As soon as he knew she was securely holding on, he grabbed her legs from behind him, and took off at speed, hearing and feeling her enjoyment. There was nothing better than running fast for a good reason. 

“Wheeee!” she shrieked in excitement.

They had just reached the front driveway when they both felt a new life burst into being on the periphery of their consciousness. Hardly out of breath from their run, Jonathan opened the front door and led them to their next life adventure.


End file.
